"Well, we don't share an exact story, but um… well, I grew up as the worse brother. I wasn't supposed to have any inheritance, for one thing, partially because I was younger, and it made it worse that I wasn't well-liked. My family ran a forge, and I was always awful at making weapons and the like. I was never abused physically, but I was constantly berated. Don't know what it feels like to be you obviously, but well… there's all that. That's only the gist of it, but…" Felix trailed off.
He wasn't trying to one-up Eclipse's problems. In fact, he was trying to do the exact opposite of that.
Eclipse shook his head, "You've never been forced to shift in front of the entire court…" he said softly, because even if that wasn't his intent, it half felt like it, and it just made him feel worse.
"I know. All I'm saying is that I… I would never want anyone to go through what I did, much less a worse, far more abusive version of it. I didn't want things to end for you like that. You deserve to live to your full potential, which is really hard for you to see right now, but… but one day," Felix explained, "I feel motivated to help you live, and live a better life for that matter."
Eclipse didn't respond, mostly because he hadn't heard the other, instead having started reliving some of the worst moments he'd had back in the castle.
"I'm sorry if I- is there anything in particular I'm saying that bothers you?" Felix asked, sitting a little more upright.
He saw the other's eyes kind of glaze over and was concerned.
Eclipse shook his head, slipping back into reality, tense.
“Alright, we’ll just know I’m here for you,” Felix promised, “I know I can’t fix everything but I can sure try to lighten the load.”
Eclipse nodded, a single tear flowing.
"Do you… would you like a hug?" Felix asked, his voice growing really soft.
He typically wasn't one for physical affection, but it felt appropriate about now.
Eclipse tensed at the very suggestion, but eventually nodded.
Felix leaned over slightly to embrace Eclipse, careful to not touch any injuries on his back. Eclipse was very warm to the touch, but also incredibly tense. Just the tenseness alone was probably sufficient to cause him physical pain, Felix thought, and he furrowed his brow slightly at the notion.
Eclipse tensed even more on contact, but also leaned into the other's touch, trembling ever so slightly.
"It's okay…" Felix murmured, "I will never hurt you, I promise. And I won't let them hurt you ever again. Ever."
He shifted slightly and his wound started to hurt a lot. He bit back a cry of pain, but it was a lot less obvious this time.
Eclipse nodded, leaning into him, letting out a broken sob.
Felix felt his heart sink and felt nearly sick with sadness and hatred all of a sudden. A few hot, silent tears spilled down his cheeks as he held Eclipse. His hands tensed a little bit as he thought of Eclipse's father and the others in the castle and how he wished them all dead.
Eclipse broke into tears, shaking as he finally let himself cry it out.
Felix rested his head on the other's shoulder and held him close. He too was shaking a bit, but for multiple reasons: trying to hold back tears, anger, and the searing through his side. He reached his hand up to hold the back of Eclipse's head. His hair was so soft…
Eclipse flinched at the touch, instinctively afraind that any physical contact would mean pain, even now.
"I won't hurt you," Felix repeated to reassure Eclipse, although his voice was a bit choked up this time with emotion.
"I-I've b-been told that-that before…" he said softly, trembling with broken emotions, fear, betrayal, hurt.
"And…?" Felix asked, "Did they mean it? Because I absolutely mean it. I would never do anything bad to you intentionally."
"I-I thought they-they d-did…." he sobbed, "I-I thought they-they did…"
Felix almost asked who it was, but stopped himself.
"What… If you don't mind me asking… What happened?"
"I-I was trying to escape…" he whispered, "B-But they outed me… th-they outed my whole plan…. I-I trusted them to help me…."
"Oh…" Felix said, his voice falling flat to hide the anger hiding underneath.
He didn't know what else to say. What, that he would never do the same? Words probably meant nothing to Eclipse at this point. Not when it came to personal trust.
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