[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 118 - 25: Little By Little [2]

Chapter 118: Chapter 25: Little By Little [2]

It was always strange waking up from a dream, especially if it was a dream that he didn’t want to wake up from. The pull was forceful somewhat. He couldn’t quite explain it. It felt gradual, but at the same time, it felt like the dream ended with a purpose.

When Ardyn opened his eyes, Luke was standing in front of him, holding what appeared to be a handkerchief. The material brushed against his cheek as if the man were wiping something off.

It was then that he realized that his eyes felt wet, and that they stung.

Had he been crying in his sleep?

The realization quickly set in, and Ardyn pulled himself away, eyes wide. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

"Sorry—" he began.

"I’m sorry," Luke said at the same time.

"Huh?" Ardyn raised his head and looked at him.

Luke smiled and withdrew his hand. "I’m sorry for wiping your tears like that," he apologized. "I just heard you crying softly and I couldn’t help myself. Did I make you uncomfortable?"

Ardyn breathed heavily. "No, it’s okay. I’m fine. Thank you." He straightened in his seat and used the back of his hand to wipe away the rest of his tears.

Luke handed him the cloth. "Here," he said. "Take this."

Ardyn accepted it and gave him a grateful look. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome." Luke took a seat beside him, not too close but not too far. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ardyn wiped the tears from his face, feeling relieved for some reason. "About my dream?" he asked tentatively.

Luke nodded. "But only if you feel comfortable," he said. "I only offered because I know that sometimes it’s good to talk to someone about how you feel on the inside."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. My friend Zach tends to keep things to himself," Luke said. "He would keep the burden on his shoulders and keep quiet about most things. I’d have to encourage him to talk to me from time to time, otherwise he’d explode."

Ardyn looked down at his lap. "You’re right," he murmured. "But... it’s too hard..."

"You’re new to this world, so I’m sure it’s been very difficult for you so far." Luke smiled encouragingly. "It’s okay to cry, you know. No one will judge you or think any less of you."

Ardyn looked at him and felt warmth bloom in his chest. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Ardyn looked around, seemingly puzzled. "Hey, wait... Where’s the kid?"

"The ’kid’? You mean Leon?" Luke looked amused. "Does he look that young to you?"

"Oh, sorry, just a habit," Ardyn said sheepishly. "He’s childhood friends with Evan and Elyana who were a year younger than me, so I just assumed... Well, I usually think that those younger than me are like kids, that’s all."

"Hmm, is that a cultural thing from your world?"

"Uh, I think it’s just me. I’m a bit weird that way."

The more he talked, the better Ardyn felt. Even if they weren’t talking about his dream just now, he felt better just talking about anything at all. It proved to be a nice distraction from his homesickness.

It also prevented him from thinking too much about his family. His mother, especially.

"If you’re wondering where he is..." Luke nodded his head in the direction of the driver’s area with the closed door. "I think he needs some privacy right now, considering what happened."

"Oh." Ardyn felt the guilt eat away at him again. He didn’t know what else to say, so he decided to look out the window instead. To his surprise, it was already dark, and the sky was painted a midnight blue with numerous stars. He hadn’t noticed earlier because of the lighting inside the carriage. "Wait, how long have I been asleep?"

"I guess about eight hours? I’m not sure. I took a short nap just now." Luke cast a worried glance at the closed door. "I wonder how he’s doing. It’s been a while, and the way to Ravencoast will take us a few more hours. I wonder if he fell asleep like we did." He turned to Ardyn. "Are you hungry?"

"Me?" Ardyn unconsciously touched his stomach. "A little..."

"I don’t have any food with me." Luke crossed his arms over his chest, looking pensive. "Maybe we should stop in the next village and eat at the tavern. I’m not sure where we are now, but I’m guessing we’ve crossed the border of Levinia."

"Is... that a good thing? I mean, are we near any towns?"

Luke nodded. "There’ll be a bunch of small villages up ahead. I can’t be sure unless I have a map and navigation. All of that is usually in the driver’s area..." He cast another uncertain glance at the closed door.

Ardyn followed his gaze. "Should we check up on him? Has he been there for too long?"

"Maybe later," Luke said. "In case he’s sleeping. I don’t want to wake him up."

"All right." Ardyn turned to him in concern. "What about you? You only took a nap, right? You sure you slept enough?"

Luke leaned back against the seat with a small sigh. "I’ll be fine. I can’t sleep, anyway. I was knocked out a few times before, so I’m only mentally drained at most."

Ardyn wanted to say something more, maybe to convince him to go back to sleep, but stopped himself in time. Technically, they weren’t really friends yet, so he didn’t feel like he had the right to press him.

Besides, Luke was an adult; he could take care of himself.

So Ardyn kept quiet and started playing with his fingers on his lap.

Luke didn’t say anything either and closed his eyes.

At that moment, something occurred to Ardyn, and his eyes widened.

Right! That thing! I almost forgot.

He quickly searched his pockets for something and finally found it.

Luke felt him rustle around and opened one eye, his expression showing concern.

Suddenly, Ardyn turned to him and handed him something. "I almost forgot to give you this." He opened his palm to reveal the silver-blue butterfly clasp. "This is yours, right? I found it in the church. I figured that it belonged to you."