Chapter Text
“Shit,” Joel muttered, pulling out his sword and equipping his shield, “Incoming.”
Etho glanced around quickly, seeing the mobs closing in. Only a few were close enough to attack, but they could see (and hear) more coming in through the trees. An arrow came quicker than either of them could react to, and they hissed in unison as it grazed Etho’s arm. Pain shot through Joel’s arm, his stomach turning at the feeling of his skin opening on its own.
Before Joel could turn to assess the wound on the other’s arm, Etho had rushed forward, swinging his axe through the ribcage of the skeleton. As the bones hit the ground, he winced and brought a hand to the blood dripping down his arm, tightening his grip to slow the bleeding.
The sensation doubled in Joel’s arm, the pressure prickling at the edges. He could already feel it rising, that strange mix of discomfort, exhilaration, and longing that pooled in his gut whenever their soulmate bond was activated, so to speak.
Their breath was starting to sync up, and their heartbeat began to muffle the sounds of the night around them. If they could just get through this crowd of mobs, it would be easy to make a break for home, but…
“Behind you,” Etho called, and Joel groaned as he spun quickly. He barely managed to raise his shield to block the incoming arrow, wincing as he caught movement in his periphery. He couldn’t turn in time, he was going to have to take the hit if he wanted to keep his shield up against the skeleton. He braced for impact and—
Etho’s axe collided with the zombie, sending it stumbling back, away from Joel. His eyes flicked over to the motion for a fraction of a second, catching the edge of his soulmate’s axe and the fresh blood on the ground, both glinting in the moonlight. Something beyond adrenaline swelled within him, nearly distracting him from the arrows that hadn’t stopped coming his way.
“Focus,” Etho said under his breath, his voice coming through the second Joel’s attention started to slip. Joel fixed his grip on his sword, stepping towards the skeleton. The impact of Etho’s axe against another mob reverberated up his arms, then sent shockwaves back down them. Joel would never quite get used to the feeling of someone else’s sensations in his nerves.
Shaking it off, he lunged forward, knocking his shield into the skeleton’s body with as much force as he could manage. The following crunch and clatter of fragile bones cracking and falling made his skin crawl, but he swung his sword, quickly finishing the mob off.
Etho swallowed thickly and stepped backwards, blindly following the feeling that tugged at his core until his back was pressed against Joel’s. Each point of contact felt like static shocks, the air around them seemed to hum with that same electricity.
Joel scanned their surroundings, seeing more mobs making their way through the woods towards them. He made a low noise of displeasure, not needing to ask Etho to know it looked similar on his side.
For a moment, they just stood there, taking in the monsters around them with their shoulder blades digging into one another. The press of their bodies acted as a grounding point, a buzz of connection that sharpened their senses. Joel took a deep breath, feeling Etho’s lungs expand at the same moment.
Etho was the first to speak, his voice shockingly clear against their heartbeat and the sounds of the mobs closing in, “If we cut to your left, I think we can make it through without having to fight them all.”
Joel nodded, his head gently knocking against Etho’s. “The pair of skeletons to your left might be an issue. I’m not looking to take an arrow in the back.”
“You’re the one with a shield,” Etho pointed out, “I’ll watch your back while you take them out, but if we linger too long we’re going to get surrounded.”
With another nod, Joel raised his shield and turned right, feeling Etho turn with him. Even as their bodies separated, Joel could still feel Etho behind him, the space thrumming with something that might’ve been their pulse.
He made quick work of the skeletons, his awareness of both Etho’s body and his own rising with each passing second. He couldn’t see through Etho’s eyes, but he could sense the oncoming danger beyond his own sight.
The awareness didn’t settle quite right within either of them, each feeling a range of perception too big for their body; the need to be connected, to feel one another, came in waves, each hitting harder than the last. Without really thinking, they were both blindly stepping towards one another again.
Joel turned and Etho intertwined their fingers. It settled the disorientation enough to allow clarity, and within just a second of their eyes meeting, they were taking off into the woods. Familiar lights twinkled through the trees, guiding their movements.
Mobs chased them, but nothing moved fast enough and no more stray arrows caught their skin. Each step of distance seemed to make the wounds on their arms pulse with more intensity, demanding attention.
But they couldn’t stop moving, not when they were still out in the open. Once they made it over the bridge and up the hill, then they could rest.
The route was familiar, once they reached the path of torches that trailed back to their base. It allowed Etho some room to think, allowed him to spare some focus to the state of his body and the feelings that ran through him.
The wound on his arm stung in pulses, the tension in his fingers where they tightened against Joel’s wasn’t helping. Then again, the thought of dropping Joel’s hand was worse. The cold night air stung too, hitting his lungs harshly with each rushed breath. His legs burned each time he pushed off the ground.
But above all that, a desire simmered just below his skin, burning every inch of him with an ache that couldn’t quite be put into words. He needed closeness, needed his broadened senses to melt down into intimacy, needed—
“Joel,” Etho breathed out, discomfort pulling at the affection in his tone. There wasn’t much Joel could do about it, Etho knew he felt the same, but the way Joel squeezed his hand in understanding would have to be enough for now.
It was starting to become normal, this strange tie between them. Personally, Joel wanted to sit down with Grian once this was all over and ask him what the fuck he was thinking, but he also knew part of him was going to miss it.
Despite how deeply unsettling it was, it was impossible to ignore the way their soulmate bond felt so correct. Joel knew that feeling was a product of itself, that their connection felt this way simply because it existed, but he found it hard to believe it wouldn’t linger. It seemed improbable that he could just forget and move on after he knew what it was like to share a heartbeat with someone else, to share his body and mind in a way that was so expansive it surpassed any logic or explanation.
Coming up on the bridge, Etho and Joel slowed their pace to a jog. Nothing was chasing them anymore, but hanging around any particular spot still wasn’t smart. They reluctantly unlinked their hands and took careful steps across the bridge—the thin platform was far from safe. Most of it was over water, so a fall was most likely not deadly, but it didn’t stop the tension that took over their muscles when they were on it.
“Almost there,” Joel said, unnecessarily, about halfway across. It might've been a distraction from the far drop to the water below, or from his skin pulsing with pain and desperation.
Etho hummed in agreement, following closely behind Joel, his eyes fixed on the other. He found it hard to not get caught up in fascination, he could feel his eyes shining with adoration as he stared at the back of Joel’s head, at the way his hair shifted in the night breeze and the way his shoulders moved as he walked. Etho wanted to reach out, to run his hands across skin that was far too unfamiliar for his liking.
As soon as he had his feet on solid ground again, Joel turned around to face Etho. The adrenaline in their bodies had settled, leaving just that tingling, buzzing, fevered feeling that enveloped their nerves and ran through their veins.
Joel held out his hand, and Etho took it without a word. They walked up their hill, past their fields, their fingers wound together tight enough to ache—just slightly.
The air felt thick; it seemed to fill their throats, leaving lumps there that couldn’t be swallowed. Joel stilled his steps, turning to Etho. The torchlight flickered on his soulmate’s face. Everything seemed to slow, even as Joel’s heart pounded in his chest. He could feel Etho’s twin pulse through the tips of his fingers.
“We’re home.”