Page 138 of Psync
“Hn.”
“That’s not what partners do.” Eli started to walk down the path, and Haruka joined him, keeping several feet of space between them.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“But I would do it again.”
Eli laughed softly. “I know that too.”
They walked quietly for a while, making their way deeper into the trees surrounding the shrine.
“I’m sorry too,” Eli said finally, inching closer. “I should have talked to you, but I was so hurt, I couldn’t even look at you.”
Haruka stopped, and Eli turned to face him. He looked even worse than he had during their fight. The shadows under his eyes had increased, making his ethereal beauty haunting.
The space between them was only about a foot now, but it felt like a thousand miles. Eli couldn’t feel even the slightest hint of his presence in his mind.
“Did you have the same dream?”
Haruka went stiff, and his face went even colder. “Someone kept taking you away from me.” A shudder went through his large frame. “They hurt you, and I couldn’t stop them.”
Eli bridged the thousand-mile gap without thinking. His arms went around Haruka, and he held him tight. Haruka was like a statue in his arms, cold and unmoving. “Don’t shut me out, Haruka. Don’t be the reason we get torn apart this time.”
And it would tear them apart. Maybe not this time or the next, but eventually, Eli wouldn’t be able to take being cut out of the loop and locked away.
Tentatively, Haruka lifted his arms and wrapped them around Eli, holding him carefully, like he was some precious, fragile thing.
“I’ll let you protect me and be as crazy as you want. Just . . . talk to me first. I don’t want to be taken away from you any more than you want to lose me.”
Haruka crushed Eli against his chest with bruising force, but Eli didn’t care. He burrowed in and held on tight. Eli felt wetness on top of his head and realized Haruka was crying.
“Okay.” Haruka whispered and rubbed his face against Eli’s hair. “Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”
Eli was about to tell Haruka not to use his hair as a handkerchief when he heard the sound of clapping.
“You two are adorable, really.”
Haruka turned and shoved Eli behind him, but left him enough room to see a tall, blond man standing on the path in front of them.
“I thought you were going to do my work for me this time, but here you are working things out and being annoyingly clingy in the process.”
“Who are you?” Haruka asked in a low, dangerous tone.
“Someone you betrayed and abandoned.”
Something hot and heavy slammed down on him, locking him into place. Haruka’s body jerked at the same time, and Eli felt a flash of alarm through their bond.
Fuck.
“I doubt that,” Eli said shakily, trying to push through the fear lancing through his body. The story he’d read said nothing about the girl betraying the god. Also, something inside of him clashed against the claim. As if outraged by the accusation.
“Like you would know.” The man sneered. “I’ve erased your memories so many times there must be nothing left of your first life.”
“I know enough to know I’d never want someone like you.” Eli peered up at Haruka’s face. He’d never want anyone other than the man currently holding onto him like his life depended on it. “And he doesn’t want you either.”
Eli felt a strong burst of agreement come from Haruka.
