Awaken

[Lieve Averesch]

Sometimes, actions spoke louder than words. Lieve didn't know when Cori stopped believing him when he told him something--he used to trust him implicitly--but it just seemed like they were talking in circles. Lieve was fine--better than fine! But Cori didn't believe it; he was too wrapped up in his fear that he was some kind of monster with monstrous power that he couldn't trust anybody at their word.

Not even Lieve. But it made sense; if he thought Lieve was hurt and covering it up to keep Cori from panicking. So... Actions.

And actions shut down Cori's circular talk. For a moment, it seemed like they shut down everything in Cori, since he froze after their lips met. No, look, Lieve said with his kiss--he wasn't hurt. Quite the contrary. A warm kiss. Affectionate. Reassuring. His thumb stroked a cheek idly as the kiss deepened and Cori grasped onto his robe, pulling him closer.

As the kiss came to a natural conclusion, Lieve tilted his head downward slightly, taking in a breath. He slid his hands from Cori's face to his shoulders, drawing him in for an embrace.

"Everything's going to be all right... You just have to trust me... okay?"

[Cori Viera]

Well this. It was. Something.

Cori's brain did go on the fritz and even after the kiss ended and Lieve pulled him closer than close for one of his warm, encompassing hugs, Cori was still dazed. He turned his face into Lieve's long, white-blond hair and shut his eyes, nestling in against him like a frightened animal seeking shelter. And he was—he was seeking some kind of reassurance that the world hadn't gone mad.

"I do," he whispered against Lieve's chest, careful not to press his cheek against the light there. "I do trust you Lievie, I've always trusted you. It's—it's ME I don't trust! And I thought if I went away and found my own place to practice my powers in, I could come back later... when I'm not dangerous to you."

His fingers toyed fretfully with the lapel of Lieve's robe, so hastily thrown on that it was falling open right in front of him. Well. Cori did notice that, although the gravity of the moment superseded any pervy thoughts about a naked Lieve under the flimsy robe. He was drawn in all kinds of different directions and didn't know what to focus on first. His brain was blowing up with hundreds of questions and the desire to protect Lieve warred with the desire to stay close to him and to stay with the one person he did trust implicitly.

"I... I love you Lievie. And I'd kill myself before I did anything to hurt you!"

[Lieve Averesch]

"I know," he said. He knew that Cori didn't trust himself and it was making him do all kinds of things he normally wouldn't do. Ever since he lost his mother, Cori lost some of his vital spark. As innocent and naive as he could be to the world, it felt like he'd lost a little of that innocence after she disappeared. And Lieve was doing his best to pull double duty but he knew, deep down, that he couldn't be both his mother and his best friend. Cori needed his mother back. And his best friend, too. Not some hybrid.

Pulling back, he slid his hands back up to Cori's cheeks and he smiled at him.

"I love you, too, Cori. More than anything. But I promise you're not going to hurt me. You're already reining in your power, you know that? You might have exploded one plant but then you grew the bell pepper and you stopped it and even shrank it back! And... you know what else? I don't think you were cursed or killing plants before. You were probably just speeding up their time, that's all. But you can reverse it, too. You're not dangerous. You're just learning. And I can help." His smile was a touch mischievous. "After all, I know something about growing plants, too."

[Cori Viera]

Cori smiled; it felt tight, but it was the first time he'd smiled in what felt like years. There wasn't a lot to smile or laugh about after his mom was kidnapped—now he knew she was kidnapped—and the strange turn of events afterwards left him even less inclined to giggle. But when Lieve said he loved him, something inside...

It grew. Like a flower blooming, it unfurled and expanded in his chest and it lifted his spirits so much that it lifted the corners of his mouth, too. Cori loved Lieve. He loved him like a brother when he didn't know better; he loved him as a friend and secretly loved him as so much more than a friend after he did know better.

But there was no indication that Lieve meant it in any way other than platonically. Was the kiss to get Cori to shut up and listen? It sort of deepened into a real kiss, though. Quite an intimate one. Cori thought maybe it meant something more than a kiss to shush a fella but how could he be sure? How could he know for sure?

"...you're the guy with the magic fingers..." Cori said slowly. He never doubted Lieve's magic, of course! Lieve was purely magical, a beautiful and delicate dryad attached to the planet, to nature. He made flowers spring up everywhere; he cultivated tasty fruits and vegetables that were unrivalled by even the best farmers in town! And not only that, but he nurtured people, too—people like Cori who depended on him like plants depended on water and sunshine and love to grow.

"Lievie? Could you. Touch here?" He pointed to his own chest, where his light was. Cori was just curious. What happened if Lieve touched him there? Would he feel what Lieve felt? Would he understand what happened—including the kiss!—if it was done to him by Lieve's magic fingers?

[Lieve Averesch]

"Now we both have magic fingers." His smile grew, too, because Cori's smile was the kind of smile that made other people smile, too. Not to mention it made him feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside. It was good to see him smiling genuinely after so long. He stroked Cori's cheeks and he could feel the smile, too. Not just in his cheeks but deep inside, where it coiled warmly around his heart.

Speaking of magic fingers...

Lieve looked down at Cori's chest. When they held hands, he could see the light there. Right now, he couldn't see it; he didn't know why it had to be hand-to-hand contact for him to see anything but... He knew that even though he couldn't see it right now didn't mean it wasn't there. His smile softened. Was Cori curious about how it felt? To be touched there? If it hurt or not? Lieve did tell him it felt... good.

He felt his face warm up slightly. It was such an intimate thing to do. It was almost like being asked to... finger Cori or something. But... really, who was closest to either of them than each other?

"Okay."

Lieve dropped his hands from Cori's face and he brought one hand toward his chest. Honestly, he was a little nervous. What if... what if how Cori made him feel when he touched him wasn't the same? And how long should he touch him for? His fingertips made contact first, gently, cautiously.

[Cori Viera]

A delicate, pale dusting of pink brushed Lieve's cheeks again, leaving Cori mystified as to why he was blushing over being asked to touch somebody's heart light. Was it—was it taboo? Cori did feel as though it shouldn't be a thing people could easily poke a finger at, and yet he did just that. He touched it and it had felt warm and lovely. It felt like a part of him, if he had to be honest, though he didn't know how to express that in a way that didn't make it sound creepy or weird.

Lieve acquiesced but Cori had the feeling he had made a boo-boo by asking him to do it. Well... but he agreed anyway! Now Cori would know how it felt, and he could finally rest easy if it turned out to be pleasant and not terrible. Orgasmic? The thought did leave him feeling distinctly abashed—and his own cheeks reddened at that—but he just had to be sure that he wasn't hurting Lieve!

So Lieve's hand lowered and he carefully applied his fingertips to where the light was. Cori held his breath, waiting for... something. But at first nothing happened. He saw Lieve's fingertips pressing against the side of where the light was and he felt a tiny quiver inside. Gently he guided Lieve's hand over to the right spot and pressed it, the whole thing, over the light.

And suddenly...

The light flared. Cori's hand closed over Lieve's tightly; he held it there as his eyes closed and his body stiffened, rising up in his seat. He didn't get to his feet but he just sat tall, head partially thrown back as a hundred thousand particles of knowledge simultaneously downloaded into his brain. That was what it felt like—like he was acquiring knowledge at incredible speed, all about Lieve. Not only that, but past Lieves too! All of his previous lives as a dryad, as a precious seedling uprooted and displaced, putting down roots where he found the right conditions and growing again into an elegant silver tree.

"Zilveri."

[Lieve Averesch]

Nothing but a tingle... up until the point when Cori placed his full hand over his heart. Then he simply felt suffused with warmth. It wasn't orgasmic from this point of view. And he couldn't tell if it was for Cori, either. Because he didn't make any unexpected cries like Lieve had--but it had shocked him and Cori sort of had a reference to refer back to, in Lieve's description.

It wasn't the same, though. Cori held onto his hand, keeping it in place. Something else seemed to be happening. Not harmful. But something. Lieve leaned in closer, heart beating faster. Wait... Did he just... Lieve took in a sharp breath.

"You know my True Name?" he asked. Nobody knew it. Cori acquired it just by having Lieve's hand over his heart like that? It would be such a dangerous ability to have in the wrong hands. But Cori could be trusted, even if he didn't know quite what power it was, to have a fae's true name.

[Cori Viera]

Cori let Lieve's hand drop at the same time that he let out the breath he'd been holding, coming back down to Earth with a bump and a shake of the head. His eyes snapped open and the images and visions of Lieve's past lives faded. He only saw the present Lieve, who seemed... surprised? Perturbed? A mixture of the two, perhaps?

"I saw it," he said thoughtfully as his hands clasped in his own lap. "In my mind. That was the word I saw. Is that your True Name? Zilveri? It's... it's so pretty..."

It was pretty just like Lieve, just like the stately tree out in the back yard that represented Lieve's soul, with its silver trunk and delicate green leaves. Cori repeated it silently in his mind; even he knew that he shouldn't be yelling a fae's True Name out loud every chance he got. But the more he repeated it, the more another word swam up through the myriad thoughts circling around and around in his mind.

"I have one too... I think..." Frowning, he lifted his gaze up to Lieve's face. "It's with you."

[Lieve Averesch]

"Yes. Only... I had forgotten it until you said it."

It wasn't a celestial power, no. Lieve only assumed it was because, well, he did know a little about celestials but not everything, all right? They were something of a mystery to him. They were not fae as such, they were something far more. But Cori wasn't just a celestial and he kept forgetting that. He was half fae, too. And what just happened right now... and with what Cori was saying about his own True Name...

"It's with me," he echoed. It might have always been with him and he just didn't know it. "Do you know what this means?" Then he felt like an asshole for asking because of course Cori didn't know what it meant. "It means we're soul mates. Like those heart necklaces that come apart in the middle. You on one side, me on the other." He demonstrated with his hands, making one half a heart with one hand, and another half a heart with the other, then putting them together.

"Do you... need to touch me to learn yours?" Would it come to him? Or to Cori? Lieve had been so shocked before, that he didn't recall hearing or seeing any names but... He was a bit preoccupied at the time...

[Cori Viera]

No, Cori didn't know what it meant that Lieve had his True Name—and vice versa, apparently! He shook his head, still searching for that name that wouldn't be recalled. It was with Lieve. His True Name resided within the heart and soul of his mate, where it could be kept safe for all time. The only one who would not use it against him was Lieve.

"Oh... soul mates..." He watched Lieve demonstrating with his hands, making a heart. Cori was one half heart, Lieve was the other. Left hand and right hand—both indispensable. "We? We're soul mates?" It was a strange thought but a romantic one. Was that why he was so drawn to Lieve from the beginning? They became best friends so easily that Cori never gave thought to how or why. They meshed; they got along. It seemed a given that they should be close.

"Maybe if we touched each other at the same time, we'll both get it." He didn't know if it would work but they could just do it and find out! Now that Cori knew it didn't hurt, he was less afraid to try different things. He reached out but only touched a shoulder. "I think I know it, it's just... stuck behind something. Like somebody didn't want me to find it so they hid it..."

[Lieve Averesch]

"I think so," Lieve said. It explained a lot, really. How they had been fast friends, how they loved each other pretty much unconditionally from day one. Lieve was friendly enough but he was also a little aloof when it came to humans--they were a dryad's worst nightmare. He thought Cori was a human but he had still received him warmly in his life, without even the slightest clue that he wasn't.

And Lieve wasn't one for holding onto grudges; he had a mild temperament unless somebody he loved was involved. Even he was surprised and ashamed when he thought of how he acted toward Rip. He hadn't trusted him at all, from the moment he heard his strange name. But it wasn't some dumb gangster name. Somebody dumb gave it to him.

And he wasn't out to hurt Cori. He smiled at him as he lowered his hands.

"Maaaaybe you have a point." Still, he felt nervous but a good kind of nervous about it. Like... right before his first time with somebody. Anticipating, hopeful. "And maybe that was your mom, protecting you. She must be so powerful, Cori. I never even suspected either of you, ever, for anything other than human."

Taking in a deep breath, he nodded at Cori. "Let's do this." And he reached out to touch Cori where he'd held his hand to his chest earlier. 

[Cori Viera]

Soul mates! It had a nice ring to it, didn't it? The mate to his soul was right here sitting next to him. Cori wondered how soul mates worked. Was it set at birth? Did he have a soul mate even when he was a tiny little baby held in his mom's arms? How come he never knew he had one? This seemed like something he should've known or felt...

His mom must have known something he didn't though, to hide his True Name from even himself. She let Cori think he was human all his life! To protect him? From... his own father, the man who kidnapped her? There was so much he didn't know! But first things first, he needed to get this soul mates thing settled, because it felt important. It felt like a thing he should know, who his soul mate was and what his own True Name was!

Cori nodded and reached out to touch Lieve's chest too, right over his heart's light. He closed his eyes tightly like he did earlier, thinking that somehow it might help him to visualize his name. That barrier inside shivered and he began to see the fuzzy, blurry word in his mind more clearly. Slowly it drifted to the forefront of his mind.

Aidna.

[Lieve Averesch]

Truly, Lieve felt connected to Cori on a new and different level now. It was like the intensity of his love for Cori had gone up, something he wasn't even sure was possible. For years, he harbored those feelings on his own. When he hit puberty, he thought about saying something but Cori loved him so much... and it seemed like he loved him as a brother loved, not as a lover.

It was best to keep things close between them, rather than risking ruining everything by saying something about feeling attraction or loving him as lovers loved. Cori was so quiet about his feelings on the matter, too. He wasn't like Mik, who constantly talked about the guys he had crushes on and went for them when he liked them. Cori never said anything about anybody in that way, which made Lieve think maybe he was asexual. It never occurred to him that maybe he was his soul mate and that it was being suppressed by powerful magic.

Was that... it? Was that why?

He felt the energy and as the word flashed before Cori's mind, it echoed into Lieve's. After a moment, he whispered it aloud, like a secret between the two of them--which was precisely what it was. When he opened his eyes, he smiled at Cori.

"Do you feel that?"

[Cori Viera]

As soon as Lieve whispered his True Name, Cori felt like something snapped inside—in a good way. Like when his glamor had bound him too tightly, and when he imagined it falling away, it suddenly did. But this time Lieve did it! Lieve freed him from the constricting feeling just by whispering the word that flashed through his mind.

"Yeah..."

He felt like he was finally awake. He had awakened. A whole lot of feelings—very intense feelings—surged out of him and suddenly he realized with blinding clarity that he... he loved Lieve very much. Not only with his heart, but with his whole soul, too. With everything that was him, he loved Lieve.

This was... new. Cori thought he had feelings for Lieve but he didn't know if they were enough. He doubted his own feelings. He heard about love, listened to songs about it, read stories about it, but what they described didn't seem to describe him. And he never felt anything for other people except platonically, even though a handful of people seemed to quite like him. If he felt anything it was only for Lieve and he loved Lieve quietly on the side, thinking that maybe he was just emotionally stunted or something.

But now he understood that there was a barrier there protecting him. Who put it there? His mom? Didn't she want him to awaken? Or maybe she wanted him to realize his abilities first... so that he could protect himself and Lieve. That seemed more in line with who she was because Cori knew that she loved Lieve like he was part of the family!

"I think... um... I think..." His voice cracked a little in the middle, as his brain raced to keep up with what was happening. Cori leaned in closer; he couldn't keep his eyes off of Lieve. Was it just him or was there something different about Lieve too? Like he was extra pretty somehow (even though he was unbelievably pretty normally too). "Mik was right..."

[Lieve Averesch]

Ah, good. Lieve's smile was relieved. He wasn't sure what he would say or do if Cori answered in the negative. Probably just... feel disappointed. But surely if he felt something so intensely and in connection with Cori--it had to be happening on both sides?

It had never happened to Lieve before, in all his years of being a dryad. Floating from one place to the next as a little seed, moving from one continent to the next and then replanting himself and growing from that seedling into a sentient being again, it hadn't happened. Now he could see why. And it never bothered him; he knew those of fae blood had soul mates but not all were so lucky and many simply lived out their lives with whomever was close. Dryads were known to be sort of frisky, anyway, so it didn't surprise him that he had been a soul mate-less until... now.

Instinctively, Lieve leaned closer too, as if Cori were about to tell him a long held secret. Then he let out psssh sound. Mik! Ugh, he would bring him up right now. The guy might be their friend and all but his pushiness had been a real turn off to Lieve, who was not appreciative of being pushed. He was free, like a leaf on the wind, unconstrained by human designs.

"Don't tell him that or we'll never hear the end of it," he sighed.