Sylvix Week 2020 Day 3: Injury/Healing - For You
For You
Sylvix Week 2020 Day 3: Injury/Healing
Synopsis:
In which Sylvain heals Felix after battle and Felix learns why Sylvain does what he does.
“When did you learn Faith magic?”
The question slips past his lips before he can stop it. To his credit, Sylvain doesn’t so much as blink or break concentration from where he is focusing on mending together the gash on Felix’s ribs, which will soon be just another off white scar on the canvas that is his body.
“Just a little after the war began.” It’s a noncommittal answer that scratches the itch of curiosity enough while also gently laying down boundaries. Normally, Felix would have respected the proverbial line in the sand, but he knows that he can push those borders with Sylvain.
“Why?”
Sylvain looks at him in the eyes for the first time since they’ve entered the infirmary. His brows are pinched in a frown and Felix is sorely tempted to kiss the pout off his face. “What do you mean, why? It’s a useful skill, Fe. We all had to learn a little bit back in the academy anyways.”
“That’s a shit answer and you know it. Answer the question, Gautier.”
Sylvain grimaces and ducks his head down again, pretending to focus on the wound again which, Felix notes, isn’t even bleeding anymore and no longer sends lancing hot pain searing through him every time he breathes.
The benefit of knowing someone your whole life is that you become an expert at reading them. Felix is nothing if not an expert Sylvain reader. To him, Sylvain is like one of those thick dusty magic tomes tucked away in a hidden corner of the library. Person after person passing him by, but none bothering to pick him up for a gander – put off by the thick layer of dust and the misleading cover that belies a plethora of multifaceted spells, some extremely simple, and some more complex.
Felix has been reading the book that is Sylvain since he was three summers old; and right now, all of his instincts are screaming at him that his boyfriend is tense, coiled, and ready to bolt at a moments notice.
“Sylvain.” Felix has never begged for anything in his life, but the way his name falls from between chapped lips hits Sylvain like a battering ram and tears down the barriers in his heart that hold back the words.
“For you, Fe.” Sylvain whispers. “For you. Always for you.”
The silence that falls between them sits heavy with the second why that accompanies his cryptic answer, but Felix is a patient man, at least when it comes to the love of his life anyways (pining for over 20 years will do that to you), and he is more than content to lay there on the makeshift cot under Sylvain’s warm touch while he finds his words.
“Do you remember when I took that hit for you and you came to my room to yell at me?”
Felix snorts, “yes. Of course. You promised that you would take things more seriously.”
“And I am!” The green glow of healing fades and Sylvain presses his palm flat against the lithe muscles underneath. “I haven’t had any close calls since then.”
It’s technically true so Felix can’t argue with that. Rather than fighting separately, they now battle side by side, watching out for each other and moving as one unit. They’ve been wildly successful with limiting the number of near-death experiences since this shift, but there are still moments like these where Sylvain can do nothing but watch in horror as an enemy blade cuts too close for comfort and teal fabric is dyed crimson.
“I promised you that I wouldn’t carelessly throw myself in front of a blade for you anymore, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still worry about you.”
Sylvain lifts the hand that isn’t pressed to the skin of Felix’s ribs to tenderly brush over his high cheekbone. “I wanted to protect you somehow. So I thought that if I can’t take the blade for you, the least I can do is make sure that you don’t die out there.”
“You’re an idiot. I’m not going to die out there.” A slight tilt of his head brings Felix’s lips to the center of Sylvain’s palm; so much larger than his own, yet so seemingly fragile in this naked moment. “I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it.”
Sylvain says nothing, opting instead for a sad, but genuine smile that makes Felix’s heart ache with love and the overwhelming desire to protect this man who has saved him so, so many times with his sunshine smile and glass heart.
Later that night, when they have both retired to their respective tents, Felix stays up practicing and dusting off his rudimentary Faith skills, a thick tome next to him guiding him down a path that he hopes will also keep Sylvain by his side for just a little longer.
