Archive of Our Own ^beta

To the moon and back.

And even around.

“Hey III, did you bring all our blankets? I think it will get really cold if we can’t split enough wood until the sun sets.”

III called out from the other room, “I put them in the car, we should get everything unpacked and then start chopping the wood. Maybe there is still some left from the last time we were there?”

Right at that moment a big heap of blankets started floating through the open door. Cold wind crept through the door while the blankets came nearer. IV was shocked for a second because his mind went into a dangerous direction. It couldn’t be magic right? No, deep breath. No one was using magic. He had to calm down. Not a single soul possessed magic. They were safe.

A muffled voice could be heard behind all those blankets. “Can anyone please help me? Is there someone? Hello!? Help!”

IV started laughing. II was trying to carry all the blankets inside. He always was determined to do everything at once. Never going back for a second, lighter load if he could prevent it. III came around the corner and just caught the cry for help.

“Love, what are you doing? Let me help you. You don’t have to prove anything.” “We needed the blankets and I went out and got them. Nothing else.”

III and IV looked at each other and each grabbed some blankets. Their little drummer friend wouldn’t learn from this and one day would get buried under whatever he decided to carry. All three men went outside after putting away the blankets, to fetch the rest they had packed.

They were finally back in the cabin. Deep in the woods to relax and forget the tour. They loved music and touring, but sometimes it was nice to just be normal. Normal beds, enough time in the morning to eat a hearty breakfast, or a healthy one for Vessel. He loved preparing food but wasn‘t the best at cooking. So he ate fruits and vegetables and sometimes cereal. The others always asked him whether he wanted some eggs or anything else, but most of the time he refused and just drank tea with them.

He took his cut up fruits with him and went into the studio. He spent hours there. Sometimes one of them would spend time with him there but most of the time he preferred to be alone.
Now in the cabin, there wasn‘t a studio. It wasn‘t a small cabin at all, but they just had the bedrooms, the kitchen, a beautiful but small bathroom and the heart of the cosy building, a big living room. They made sure that Vessel could play piano whenever they spent time here but he was surrounded by everyone and couldn‘t hide away. They weren‘t sure why he preferred to be alone in the studio, but they gave him his privacy if he asked for it.

“Hey II, did you see Vessel somewhere? I thought he would be outside by the car?” “Hm, good question, maybe he went down to the river. You know how he is. He needs some alone time sometimes.” All three looked at each other and smiled. Yes, they knew. III and IV went outside to cut some wood so they would have enough for the cold days laying ahead. Both looked so cute, all bundled up and bickering about who would be able to cut the wood faster and who would cut more than the other.

How II loved listening to their arguing because he knew for certain that they bet against each other and that whoever won would win a kiss from the other one. So in the end no one would lose.
II started cleaning the house and packing away the stuff they brought. He would have liked Vessel’s help but understood his need for solitude.

Meanwhile Vessel was standing near the river. The snow was falling and covering everything around him and even himself. If you were to walk down to the river, you wouldn’t recognise a human standing near the water. You could mistake him for a tree. Vessel started singing and humming and the river changed its speed. The water flowed slower and Vessel was able to look at the fishes swimming in it. He loved spending time here, hidden away from prying eyes.

There was a sound and he stopped singing immediately. He wasn’t sure what he’d heard, but would never risk getting caught. Not by anyone.

IV and III walked into the forest to get more wood, they had found some bigger logs near the cabin but thought that there weren’t enough yet. So they started their hunt for fairly dry and big, fallen wood. When they wandered into the clearing where the river went through, they heard someone making strange noises. It sounded kind of like singing. Both looked at each other. They were certain that it was Vessel but it sounded kind of different to his normal voice and choice of music.

“Should we leave?” III asked IV.
“No, let's go to him and take him back with us. I know that he isn’t wearing something proper for the snowstorm coming our way. And he can help us with the wood we found.” III almost fell down while he concentrated on IV and the noise was what startled Vessel. IV steadied III and called out to their partner. “Hey Vessel, what are you doing out here? I never heard you sing like this! Was it a new song?”

Vessel turned around and his face fell. “No, my love. I was just warming up my voice. No song, just stupid warm up noises.” “You’re sure? It sounded strange but mesmerising. Maybe you could use it in your next creation.” He would never. It was hard enough to stay away from this side of his voice. It would be freeing for him but he would never risk it. There were already enough slip ups during their rituals. More wouldn’t be tolerated.

III went over to Vessel and saw how much snow had already landed on him. “Vessel, you're not still wearing your Tabi shoes. You will lose your toes if they turn into icicles.” He was afraid that Vessel would get ill if he stayed outside in the cold any longer. It was too dangerous for him.

“Let’s go inside and get you warmed up. I bet II’s already prepared a tasty soup and some tea to warm us all up. We brought all your favourite blankets. I personally made sure to bring your soft and fluffy ocean themed one.”
“Oh you did? You’re the best. Yes, let's go back and get cosy.”
“We need to take some of the wood with us to the cabin, so it can dry up a bit. Maybe the one which is buried under some of the younger trees is already old and dry enough for the oven? We still have some in the little shed by the cabin.”

Vessel was already in his head again. Buried in his own world. They were used to it, so they took him by the hands and led him to the wood which they had already prepared. They gave him some of it and carried the rest to the cabin. All three were getting a bit warmer from working so hard and it was helping to fight off the cold. IV called out to Vessel from time to time so he wouldn’t get lost and once they arrived at the cabin they saw that smoke was coming out of the chimney. So II already got some of the wood and had started a fire. They were sure that he’d already prepared something warm to drink for them. He loved to take care of them and they enjoyed it very much.

“Darling are you here? We’re back and we found Vessel. I think he needs a warm bath and something hot to drink.” II came out of the kitchen and looked at his three partners. Two still bundled up and one only wearing the bare minimum of clothes. Shaking his head he turned around, got a big cup of tea and came over to Vessel.

“Please drink this my love, you look awfully cold. I will get a bath started. Didn’t you feel the cold?”
“Just a little bit, it wasn’t as cold as you think. The snow kept me warm.”
“I can’t believe it. Look, your hands are shaking. Sit down for a moment here in front of the fireplace.”

III and IV were watching them and felt right at home. II always took such good care of them. He planned the tour and made sure that they were able to sleep in real beds from time to time and now he took care of Vessel. They loved him for it.

“And you two get out of your clothes. The snow is starting to melt and you are dripping all over the floor. Get changed and then you can drink your tea.”
“Aye aye, Sir.”

Snickering, III and IV got rid of their coats and their boots., the scarves and gloves followed. II shook his head, chuckled to himself and turned around to walk to the bathroom to start the water. Vessel was standing in the middle of the living room. Holding the tea and enjoying the bickering. He loved those mundane moments. He loved those men.

The evening went by so fast. After the bath, Vessel got bundled up in his favourite blanket and they ate the warm soup II cooked. It was full of vegetables and a bit spicy and everyone warmed up pretty quick. Vessel started reading to them and they cuddled up around him. It was good that they got the big couch all those years ago. Otherwise, that cuddle pile would have resulted with one or two of them on the floor. Those cosy moments were the absolute best. Vessel’s voice was warm and soothing. He read about ghosts, monsters and creatures and the storm outside picked up. It was the perfect combination.

After the fire had died down a bit, they decided to go to bed. II and Vessel took one bedroom, while III and IV took the other one. The cabin didn’t have a big enough bedroom for all four of them at once, so they always started off by sleeping like this and switched every night. At home, they mostly slept all in one room but here they were alright like this. Some nights, they ended up staying on the couch but one of them would always fall down on the floor and then everyone was woken up. Mostly III, he moved so much, trying to cuddle with everyone.

II woke up in the morning and he had a feeling that he was the first. It was pretty early. Opening his eyes he still felt Vessel’s back flush to his front. He stayed a little longer in the warm and cosy bliss. He was debating in his head whether coffee and breakfast was more important than the warmth radiating from his tall lover, but the scuffling and shouting he heard didn’t leave him with more time to decide.

Their door burst open and IV was standing in the doorway, looking distressed and so lost. Vessel had barely opened his eyes when IV started speaking way too fast.

“III is gone, I can’t find him. He isn’t here anymore. He left us. Where is he? Did you see him, is he with you?!?”
“IV, please calm down and tell me again what happened.” II jumped out of bed and was near IV in a heartbeat. He grabbed IV by his arms and held him still.
“Deep breaths my love. You probably had a bad dream. III isn’t gone. He probably went outside or maybe is in the bathroom.”
“His stuff is gone!”
“So he finally cleaned it up and packed it away.”
“No II, you don’t get it. There’s nothing left. As if he never was with us.”

Vessel crawled out of the warm bed and stood near his very agitated partner. He looked at IV and wasn’t sure what had happened. He was still caught up in a very intense dream.

Vessel started humming and IV started to calm down a bit. Vessel opened his arms and IV let himself get enveloped in the love and warmth of Vessel. It was natural for him to be the calming presence in the storm. Wait – storm. The snowstorm that had started yesterday may have damaged something outside.

“Did you look outside sweetheart? Maybe he woke up early and wanted to clear away the snow. We will go and look for him.”

II went to get some clothes for them. All bundled up, they went to the door of the cabin. When they opened it, they were immediately blinded by the sun glistening on the snow covering everything. It had snowed a lot over night. II saw some almost snowed over footsteps going around the cabin. So they were right, III went outside to do something. Maybe just to get wood. Not III’s normal behaviour, but who knew what their little chaos gremlin was up to. “Look IV, he went outside and will be around here somewhere. Let’s get back inside. We can prepare breakfast, you know how hungry III will be when he comes back!”
“But II, his stuff is gone.”
“Let's start the day and make a plan. If he isn’t back in half an hour, we go out and look for him.”
Vessel had a bad feeling but they needed to wake up fully and some food would be good too. A visit to the bathroom also would be an amazing decision. Normal human stuff.

While Vessel and IV were preparing breakfast – well mainly IV, Vessel was responsible for chopping everything – II went through the cabin. Like IV said, II couldn’t find III’s belongings. He only found a checkered sock in the bathroom. Taking it with him, he went into the kitchen to ask whether III had said anything the day before, if anything had happened or if anyone had a suspicion on what could have shaken III up so much that he would have left them, especially in the middle of a snow storm.

The car was still outside, so he didn’t drive away to get something they forgot. But there wasn’t anything they could recall. Nothing at all.

Eating a fast breakfast, but not really enjoying it, all three were thinking about III and hoped he would be back soon. IV was the most distressed of them all. He had slept beside III. He should have noticed something.

Vessel felt bad for the normally joyous man, and after cleaning up the table he took him back into his arms to hum and cuddle him for a bit. “So he isn’t back and II, you told us you couldn’t find his stuff either, right?” IV started sobbing. “Sweetheart, it's alright. We will find him. I can’t imagine what happened but we will find him.”

Vessel was rocking IV from side to side and his rumbling voice and the humming he picked up again soothed the distressed man in his arms. “I, I should…, like why didn't…, where did he!” II was patting IV’s back and he knew what to do. He never thought he would be forced to do something like this but he was willing to risk it. They would go outside, take enough food and water with them to last the day and they would find their tall stupid lover.

“We’ll pack everything we need, get our warmest gear and snow shoes. Let’s find III and then we can spend more evenings cuddled up together.” II was determined to get going and IV would probably be a little happier when they were actually doing something to find III.

All three packed the things they would need into backpacks. Food, water, a torch, a medi pack, a rescue blanket and more. Maybe III hurt himself and was waiting for them to come and rescue him. II hoped they would find him fast and that he wouldn’t have to use his talent. But nonetheless, he packed the necessary items.

II made sure that everyone was wearing appropriate clothes, especially Vessel. “Please my love, could you change your footwear. We brought heavy boots for you, Tabi shoes aren’t the best choice for this weather. We need to be able to walk for a while, just to be sure. We don’t know where he went.”
“My shoes are the ones I prefer and I don’t think I need to change them.”

He was like a stubborn child, if they would let him he would walk around without shoes and just in trousers and a cloak. He could do that all day normally, but maybe not on top of a mountain, during winter, right after a snowstorm.

The last thing he needed was his photo of him and the other three after their first bigger show in London. He’d left it at his piano. He had laminated it after the photo started to tear because he carried it around wherever he went. He stopped dead in his tracks. There was his photo and a piece of paper right next to it. He spotted III’s chicken scratch handwriting.

“Guys? II, IV come over here please. I found something.”
“Vessel we need to get going. Come on, we need to start looking for III.”
“III left a note II. Come over here. I don’t want to… can you?”

Vessel couldn’t move and almost got thrown to the side by IV. He took the paper or maybe letter in his hand. He started reading it. Mumbling out some words from time to time.

“Can’t risk…, not worthy of you…, magic.” Pausing to let out a heart wrenching sob and then turning around to look at Vessel and II, who stopped his approach and stood close to Vessel.

“He woke up, and felt weird, no – different, I can’t.”

II walked the rest of the way over to him and took the letter. IV couldn’t stop crying. “I think III discovered that he possesses magic after he woke up this morning. He isn’t going into more detail but it seems that it shook him to his core and that he just ran away.”

II wasn’t sure because the letter wasn’t really explaining a lot. “But where is he? Why did he leave us?” Vessel seemed confused. They loved him. Why didn’t he stay with them?
“He seems too afraid to risk staying with us. He is afraid that someone would recognise his power and you know that it gets more dangerous every day.”
“We wouldn’t judge him for that. Why did he tell us in a letter? Why didn’t he just tell us and stay?”
“He didn’t want us to follow him. He wanted to tell us why he left, so we wouldn’t risk our lives searching for him!”
“He is fucking stupid if he would believe that we wouldn’t come looking for him.”

IV’s despair changed to anger real quick. He looked furious and really pissed off. “We leave at once and we will find him. I don’t care what he thinks. He will come back with us and we will take care of him and the situation. I can’t fucking believe how stupid this man can be sometimes. We love him, right!?!” Vessel and II were quick to assure IV that they indeed loved III and that it wouldn’t matter to them. They thought the magic ban was ridiculous but that wasn’t important right at that second. Vessel looked at II and IV. He slipped out of his Tabi shoes and got into his warm boots. He really meant business.

“Let’s go and find our confused but still very much loved bassist.” They all got bundled up, took their backpacks and the snow shoes. The snow was high and they needed a way to walk even through the deeper parts of it. They needed to find III.

After walking for almost one hour, but not really getting far because of all the snow blocking their way, they stopped. In the beginning, they had found traces of III but it got harder and harder. II was convinced that they lost III’s trail at least fifteen minutes ago.

“Hey, we need to go back and look for another sign of III. Maybe he lost something or we will find another track. Those big ass boots of his should leave deeper tracks. It’s infuriating that he probably ran away before the snow stopped.”

Vessel and IV were already lost. II was always the one who knew exactly where they were. Even in surroundings they had never been in before, II would lead them down the right path. So both looked at him for guidance.

“Let’s turn around and go back to the last clearing, where we decided to go down this path. I think it was the wrong one. Everything looks so similar when it’s covered in white.”

The other two felt his frustration but didn’t know what to do. Vessel would be able to help, but he didn’t want to calm II down. He needed his energy. When they were back at the clearing, IV unpacked a thermos and gave everyone a small cup of tea to warm them up a bit. They still had a second one only for III, he probably would need it since he didn’t take one for himself.

The biggest question was, where would he even go? There was nothing where he could go. No one lived near them, there wasn’t a place to hide. They all were afraid that III would do something stupid. In his overwhelmed state of mind anything could happen. II wasn’t sure what to do, should he use his talent? There were possibilities to enhance what he normally was able to do. But like III, he was afraid to risk the wonderful life they’d built. To risk both his partners’ lives.

But with III developing magic or finding out about his ability it could be the right time to tell the others. With a deep breath, he put down his mug to place it onto a big log.

“Guys I need to tell you something. You both know I love and trust you to the moon and back!” Normally III would add and even around the moon. Don’t forget to say around the moon, that’s even more. But III wasn’t here with them and Vessel and IV looked expectantly at him. Vessel wanted to go over to him, but II stopped him.

“No, please listen first, you both have to listen to me and then decide. It’s a big decision. I have a way of finding III.”
“We know II, you’re the one who finds things the fastest, so I believe in you finding him.” IV nodded eagerly.
“No, you don’t understand me. I’m able to do so much more. I’m able to use magic to find people, things and the right way. I never use it to its full extent because magic is forbidden. I didn’t want to risk our career and the life we built, but III is more important and I would understand if you needed to leave after we found him. I don’t expect you two to give up everything we’ve achieved. I need to enhance my natural magic to find him and it could be that it will drain me pretty fast. So you two have to help me walk. That’s why I’m telling you all of this.”

He didn’t look at IV and Vessel after speaking his truth. He knew that they weren’t like everyone else, but he was still kind of afraid of their reaction. Vessel was the first to speak.

“You know I love you very much. To the moon and back and I never would judge you. I can’t believe we’re talking about magic in the middle of the woods.”
“I’m sorry Vessel…”
“Stop right there my love, that’s not what I mean by that. My voice is my magic.”
“Yes Vessel, we know your voice is magical,” IV huffed.
“No, you both don’t get it. It’s weird that no one ever noticed anything. I can influence humans, animals and even nature with my voice. I’m able to transfer emotions. I can calm you down, I can excite the masses while I sing. That’s why I’m always so exhausted after a ritual. It drains me and I try to use it as little as possible. But I always feel too deeply while I’m singing, while listening to you play your instruments. It gets easier to control it after using it more often, but it’s still difficult.”

IV started laughing so hard he doubled over. “You two are telling me that not only III is able to use whatever kind of magic he discovered this morning, but that you two are also able to? You all possess some kind of magic, which you know is forbidden!?”
“IV please don’t be angry.”
“Angry, II? Nah, I’m kind of surprised and glad that happened. I mean as long as we find our beloved fourth.”
“Surprised because you didn’t recognise magic in one of us?”
“No one recognised magic in any of us. We all are able to use it. Even I possess magic. We’re all so stupid.”

All three men were stunned. How could that be? All of them? Why didn’t they recognise the signs? They were all too good at hiding it. They had to be.
“You never recognised how fast all your little injuries healed? How fast the flu left us, if we ever got ill in the first place?”
“That was you? Using your magic?”
“Yes, my special kind of magic.”
All three were standing there in the middle of a snow filled clearing, in the middle of the woods. Shivering because of the cold creeping inside their clothes. It was surreal. Admitting to each other that they were able to weave magic, a dangerous thing in their world and they still loved each other.

II put down his backpack and took out a very old compass, some twine and III’s chequered sock he left behind. IV put his hand in front of his mouth, the sock was so sad and so funny at the same moment. III loved those socks. IV missed his big ass cuddle partner so much. He was so afraid for him. II looked around and asked whether one of them could see a little twig. He needed something to draw with in the snow. Vessel brought one over to him. As he gave him the twig, he kept his hand in his for a moment and gave him a soft, very tender kiss. “I love you so much, never forget this.”

Vessel went over to IV and put his arm over his shoulder. He wanted to be there for IV and he needed the connection as well. II started walking in a circle, stopping shortly at all four cardinal directions. One thing he always was able to do – he always knew where North, East, South and West were. He drew some runes at the exact positions and muttered softly spoken words. Vessel and IV couldn’t understand him and didn’t want to ask in case they were to ruin everything. II folded the sock into a small package and fastened it under the compass. He then put the compass down in the middle of the circle he’d drawn and connected the four directions he’d already marked with more runes. The compass right in the middle of those connections.

Vessel and IV didn’t recognise them from anything they’d seen before. They had so much to talk about once they’d be back home. II went outside the circle and didn’t stop chanting and muttering. Vessel and IV looked at each other. They’d never seen someone else using magic and never saw someone using it to this extent. They expected something big to happen. They expected some glowing and maybe the wind to pick up, but it stayed quiet and no glowing runes happened.

II just waited for a moment and went back into the circle. He retrieved the compass and then put his backpack back on. He wobbled a bit, looked at his two stunned partners and waved at them to follow him. He watched the compass turning in different directions. Avoiding the north. It turned to the path they’d already taken and then into another direction. After a longer moment where it didn’t move at all, the needle started spinning very fast.

“It’s working. I can’t believe it. We will find him. Vessel, IV follow me and be quick.” He wanted to go into the direction the compass told them to, but fell down to his knees. Vessel was the first to reach him. “II come on, I will help you walk.”

They started to walk down a narrow passage hidden between some big trees. They really had to fight against the snow and it got even more difficult. Vessel was glad that they took the snow shoes with them and that he wasn't wearing his Tabi shoes anymore. He and IV tried to help II as much as they were able to. The path started winding up a hill and the trees got sparser. They encountered some rocks blocking their way. When they went around them there was a small opening. It looked like the entrance to a cave. The compass still showed this exact direction. They had to get inside, they had to risk it.

“How sure are you my love?” Vessel wasn’t keen on crawling into the darkness, but would do it if II was sure that this was where III was.
“I’m 100% sure that III is hiding inside this cave. He probably thought it would be a good place to rest. I’m not sure how he found it but we need to get inside and get him out.”

IV went ahead, got rid of his snowshoes and was about to crawl inside.
“Wait IV, we need the torch.” II opened his backpack and got it out. He handed it to IV and he switched it on. It wasn’t the brightest one but he didn’t care much at this point. He started crawling inside.

“III, sweetheart are you here?” It was dirty, moist and not at all a place to hide for long. What was III thinking? If he was even inside! IV wasn’t fully convinced that II was really able to find him so quickly. But he had to trust his partner. II and Vessel wanted to follow IV inside but waited if IV was able to squeeze through the entrance.

“Hey IV, is there enough room for all of us?” II asked and after IV disappeared inside, he started crawling after him, not waiting for an answer. Vessel shook his head. They were all crazy doing this but he still was on all fours so fast and went after them. Being tall wasn’t the best right now. For the first time, he was jealous of II. IV tried to hold up the torch but it just showed them a bigger opening and then went out.

“Fuck, II didn’t you check the batteries?” IV shook it but it didn’t go back on. It was total darkness at first. No wait, IV saw some sort of glow further down the cave. Maybe III had his own torch or maybe it was something else and they would regret crawling inside this creepy cave in seconds.

Vessel bumped against II and huffed. II started crawling after IV again until they passed the opening. IV was already standing inside a bigger cave and looked at someone huddled up against the opposite wall. He wanted to run over, but stopped. Where was the light coming from? There wasn’t a fire and no torch he could see.

The glowing was too subtle for anything IV could think of. He walked a bit to the side, so II and Vessel were able to stand up and also come inside. They all recognised III but he wasn’t moving.

“III, hey my love, are you alright?” They didn’t know what kind of magic was his and didn’t want to startle him. So Vessel called out again. He laced his voice with some of his own magic so III wouldn’t feel threatened by them.

“Is he sleeping?” he asked his other partners.
“I’m not sure, love. Let’s go over to him.” II started in III’s direction.

That was the moment III woke up. He looked exhausted. He looked devastated and defeated. Not their funny lovely bassist anymore.

“Stay away.”

Red sparks started dancing over his body and the glow turned into an angry red burning light.

Vessel tried again. “Love, please listen to me. You’re not in any danger. We love you and won’t leave you. We all possess a certain kind of magic. No one wanted to tell the others because we all were afraid, but now we know and we won’t leave you. Never would.”

He weaved a lot of his power through his words and it affected III immediately. He felt how afraid III was, but not for himself. Just for his partners. For all of them.

“I will hurt you. I don’t know what happened, but I can manipulate light, I can shoot laser beams and I will hurt someone. I don’t want to hurt you. Please leave me alone. I will stay here until it's over.”
“Show me III, let us see.”
“No, I will kill someone, I don’t want to do this. Just leave me.” Vessel’s magic was working but III still was afraid. Vessel wasn’t able to manipulate someone to do something they didn’t want to do. IV started going over to III and III started sobbing.

“What are you doing IV, please go.”
“No my love I won’t leave you here alone. I don’t want to know what you mean when you say, until it’s over. I will never leave you. We will never leave you!”

III couldn‘t stop crying and IV didn‘t know what to do. Vessel started singing, his voice sounded so much louder and had so much more energy in this small cave. He put all his love into the song and III calmed down. He was mesmerised by Vessel‘s voice and didn't recognise how close IV had already come. He whipped his head over to IV the moment he touched him and his whole body started crackling with sparks. III opened his hands and light shot out to the ceiling.

“Nooooooo!“ IV thought about it for a second and reached out his hand. He let it slide through the beam of light and it didn‘t hurt him. It was just light. Nothing to be afraid of.

III looked at IV and he was probably so shocked that everything stopped. The light, the sparks and Vessel‘s singing. It was eerily calm for a moment.

“Why? IV how did you know?“
“I didn‘t, but you wouldn‘t be able to hurt anyone. Darling, you‘re not dangerous, so your magic couldn‘t be dangerous.“

IV kneeled down and took III into his arms. Vessel and II came over and they kneeled close to the other two. Now Vessel wasn’t as steady as before and he felt so tired. Magic wasn’t for the weak. He held onto II. Both just being there for their loves. III was so relieved, he was still afraid how this would affect their life, but at that moment, he just wanted to be with his men.

“Hey III can we go home?“ II gave him a tender kiss after IV was able to let III go.
“Don‘t kiss me II, I'm disgusting, I ugly cried.“
“Haha, III I don’t care, I’m just glad we found you. I love you to the moon and back.”
“And around it too?” III asked hesitantly.
“Yes you big oaf and even around it. You didn’t make it easy for us.”
“How did you find me?”

Vessel told him all about II’s confession and his cool way of finding III. III was overwhelmed by all their love and how much they cared for him. Maybe they were able to still live together and maybe he wasn’t alone with all of this. He should have known better. Vessel, II and IV weren’t just his boyfriends, they were partners for life.

“I don’t think I’m able to leave guys. I hurt my ankle. It’s probably broken. I’m not sure how we’re supposed to get home. I’m too big to get carried around.” II smiled at IV.
“What do you think? Maybe I could help you a little bit with your magic and after you healed him we could eat and drink something and get out of here. It will be hard with all of our magic draining us but maybe if we walk slowly!”

IV nodded and II drew some runes onto IV’s skin. He used some dirt and IV wasn’t sure how he felt about all of this, but if it would help III he would get dirty. II repeated his mumbling and chanting from before and this time IV felt some energy coursing through his veins. He carefully lay his hands on III’s ankle and started the healing. He felt the bones shifting, the flesh knitting and the blood coursing. He could feel the damage and let his magic work. It was so good to be able to just use what was part of himself. It felt amazing.

Some traces of perspiration started showing on his forehead. It wasn’t easy doing something so advanced. Healing broken bones was more difficult than healing minor cuts. III felt a little bit of pain but nothing which hurt him further. It felt strange but he trusted them.

“Move your foot sweetheart.”
“Are you sure?” IV was breathing a bit faster than normal, but nodded and III moved his foot. It didn’t hurt anymore. It still felt tender but nothing compared to before.
“Thank you so much IV. I’m grateful that you found me and that you believed in me. That all of you did.” He got back into his shoe he ditched when he’d arrived in the cave. He’d just wanted to make sure that his ankle wasn’t broken. Yeah, not a smart move in hindsight. But now he was able to get back into it. Since he saw what the others were able to do, he tried something. He tried to warm up his skin and it worked. So he then took IV’s hands in his and did it one more time.

“Wow, that's neat. You’re not only manipulating light. You also can use the warmth coming from it. You’re my personal sun from here on.” All four started laughing. They all felt more free than ever before. After eating and drinking some of the still warm tea they brought, they rested for a bit. They all needed to regain some of their strength until they would be able to reach their cabin.

The walk back was strenuous but in the end, they made it. The cabin was laying dark and still before them. They were finally back home. What a day they’d had. Life wouldn’t be the same. Never.

A hot shower, a good meal and some hot chocolate with marshmallows helped them all to feel normal again. Well, as normal as possible.

“I know you’re probably all very tired but could we cuddle on the couch for a bit. We could watch the fire and maybe Vessel would be willing to read to us. I just want this day to end with something familiar. I’m so sorry to have caused so much trouble.”
“Oh my love, I’ll gladly read to you until you all fall asleep. We all can stay on the couch tonight.”

III was so glad that all his partners still loved him. He loved them so much.
To the moon and back and even around it.