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eliaskahtri · 3 months

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Hand Warmers || Elias & Marcus

TIMING: Current LOCATION: The Commons PARTIES: Elias (@eliaskahtri) & Marcus (@thenavysealkie) SUMMARY: Marcus runs into Elias during the frostbite festival and decides to confront him. They get deep. CONTENT WARNINGS: None

Today was one of the more exciting days that Marcus had experienced in a while, and this time it was a good kind of excitement. The town had set up their own little version of a Kris Kringle market and he was excited to check out all of the little stands that were set up. He had one of these that would come to town every year where he grew up and he was interested to see how different towns ran theirs.

As he approached the market area, he could see plenty of people gathered around, all bundled up in their winter gear. Marcus had dressed warm as well, but he was already starting to feel the sting of the cold wind hitting his face. He decided to hit up a hot chocolate stand so he could warm up a bit.

While scanning the different stands trying to find what he was looking for, a familiar face appeared in the crowd. One that had been ghosting him for the past two weeks.

“Elias?” he said questioningly, trying not to break his line of sight on the man. He knew everyone had their reasons for ghosting others, but Marcus felt he had the right to know what Elias’s reason was. After all, they had become a bit closer than just running buddies at that point.

“Elias!” he repeated again, not sure if the other man hadn’t heard him or if he was ignoring him on purpose.

It had been his assistant’s idea to go out to the market. She needed to find Christmas gifts for her family, and decided that Elias needed to do something that wasn’t working for once in his life. Which… fair enough. He was standing in front of a puzzle stall. They made little intricate pieces that slotted together like cogs and gears. Of course, he had to have it.

That’s when Elias heard a familiar voice. A voice he was rather keen on avoiding. Thanks very much. He pretended he didn’t hear Marcus, continuing with his transaction with the vendor. Then his name echoed out again. Shit, there was no getting out of this, was there? After taking the bag from the vendor, Elias finally turned around to face Marcus with an awkward smile.

“Oh, hey!” He called out, making his way over to Marcus. “Sorry I didn’t get in contact. Life got…” he trailed off. How did he explain that his life had turned upside down? That his closest friend was leaving? That fae and werewolves and god knew what else was real? He had more than one late-night freak-out over it. “...weird.” He finally concluded. There was no other word to describe it other than weird.

“Come to check out the festival?” He asked, not wanting to dwell on his hang-ups too much. “Naya, my assistant, dragged me out of the apartment.” He admitted. He wouldn’t have come here if it weren’t for her insistence. “Between person shit and work, I haven’t really had any time to breathe.” It was the truth, Elias realized. He worked himself too hard in all aspects of his life, and that’s how he kept ending up in these situations of severe burnout.

While Marcus wasn’t sure if he really believed what Elias had to say, he decided the excuse was good enough for now.

“I get it. Life has a habit of getting really weird really quick. Feels like it’s been doing that a lot lately, come to think of it.”

He didn’t really feel like giving him the third degree. Just wanted to subtly let him know that that ghosting was very much not cool and then let him enjoy the rest of the festival. But now that he was here, actually speaking to him again, he found he didn’t want to end the conversation just yet.

“If it ever gets to be too much, you can talk to me. You know? Even if I have nothing else to offer in terms of help, I’ll always at least be a listening ear. And a voice of reason, if needed of course.”

He listened to Elias recount how busy he’s been and could relate. It definitely wasn’t like he wasn’t going through his own shit.

“It’s the holidays, busy time for everyone. I get how some things can slip through the cracks.” He had never been clingy. In fact, he often criticized previous lovers on their tendency to get way too close to him. Yet here was, almost wanting to demand Elias at least send him a “hey, can’t talk right now. Work shit” text. But he had never been like that and didn’t want to be. So instead he simply nodded his head after an awkward pause and said “Well…I should probably let you enjoy the rest of the festival, huh? Unless you wanted some company”.

Everything in Elias screamed to let Marcus walk away. This was how he got into trouble, letting people get too close. But He’d let Regan in, which hadn’t gone too terribly. Weird, but not terrible. So, after a beat of silence, Elias deflated. Telling Marcus the entire truth would be too much. “I was a dick for not saying anything. I just freaked out.” He finally admitted as he stepped away from the booth, looking at Marcus. “I’m sorry, it was shitty of me.” His gaze held sincerity, but it was also nervous. As if being this honest with a person was a step too far for him. He was getting too close, and it scared him. That had gone wrong for him in the past.

Elias nodded his head for Marcus to follow him. “Honestly, I’ve been… learning a lot about people I wasn’t supposed ever to know. And it freaked me out. And I shut down for a while. I was going through the motions instead of actually interacting with the world.” Elias kept his head down, only looking at Marcus out of the corner of his eye. Was he sharing too much? Did Marcus regret ever talking to Elias in the first place? “Still, I should have said something. Again, it was shitty of me.” he reiterated as he played with the handles of the bag in his hand.

“If you wanted to, I don’t think I’d mind a little company.” He relented, a shy smile peaking onto Elias’s face. “I’ve never lived in a town with this much activity going on.” He admitted, standing up a bit straighter as if he’d lifted a load off his shoulders. With every step, he became more and more like his normal, chipper self. “Well, I guess I’ve never lived in a small town with this much going on. San Diego had plenty.”

Marcus was relieved to hear the honesty from Elias. He could relate about discovering things about people. He could also sympathize that his entire worldview was still recently turned completely on its head, so he may not be in the best headspace right now.

“You’re good, man. I was just worried about you, that’s all. You’ve seemed more bothered recently, at least judging from what little I’ve seen of you. You know I’m still here if you need to talk, right? I mean I’ve gone through some shit of my own recently so I completely understand not being in a great headspace.”

“San Diego is much warmer, and the town doesn’t actively try to kill you. But this town has its own charm you really can’t get anywhere else. Plenty going on, for sure, but at least you have time to meet people and make every event feel like a community driven thing.” He offered a warm smile.

“Hey, I was just about to grab some hot chocolate, did you want some?”

Elias wanted to shrug it off, but something kept eating at him. Why wouldn’t Marcus tell him the truth of what he was? It was written all over his face, the storm clouds hidden behind his eyes. He clenched his jaw, then relaxed it. “I can handle the truth, you know.” He finally said. “I’ve found out quite a lot, and I’m still standing.” He really had to work on controlling what he said and when he said it. He had just blurted it out. “I mean, you said that you’re something else, but you didn’t want to overwhelm me.” Elias fiddled with the handle of the bag, staring down at it before deciding to be brave for once in his life and meet Marcus in the eyes. “And you can talk about what you’ve been through to me. Maybe we should… both stop hiding.”

“Eh,” Elias responded. “I mean, San Diego is nice, don’t get me wrong.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I mean, it’s home. But it’s not… not home anymore, you know? I outgrew it.” In a moment of panic, Elias had moved away from California and changed his setting completely. “I don’t know, maybe there were killer creatures all over the place, I was just too blind to see it.”

Elias thought for a moment, something about an unmanned hot chocolate station seemed like a recipe for disaster. “The one that no one is watching the drinks? Where anyone could tamper with them, that hot chocolate?” Elias’s brows knitted together, followed by a shake of his head. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Hearing Elias’s request, Marcus let out a heavy sigh. “You really like stirring up a hornet’s nest, don’t you? I feel like every time some revelation about reality hits you, you very decidedly do NOT handle it. But if you must know…” he trailed off, getting himself ready to tell him. It wasn’t as if selkies had a bad reputation or anything. But once Elias knew, Marcus would only be seen as something else; worst case scenario he’d be seen as a monster. He felt he risked losing Elias and yet…he knew that he deserved nothing but the truth after an entire life of being deceived.

“You remember that day on the beach? When we first met? Didn’t exactly get off on the right foot. But we got to talking about a very specific brand of cryptids. Seal people, selkies if you will.” He took a brief pause, waiting to see a hint of recognition so he wouldn’t have to give Elias a crash course reminder of what selkies were. “Well anyway, the reason I knew so much is because I, sort of… am one. A seal person.”

He didn’t wait to gauge Elias’s reaction, he almost couldn’t bear to look at the aftermath of him revealing his true identity. He swiftly turned to look at the unmanned hot chocolate station. Quickly trying to change subject he muttered out “Oh would you look at that. No oversight or anything. You’re right, bad move getting the hot chocolate.” He said letting out a nervous laugh.

Elias grinned as Marcus sighed on him, knowing that he was most likely going to get his way. “I do like it, it’s my favorite activity!” Elias exclaimed as he clapped his hands together, walking in stride with Marcus. There was something about discovering that everyone in this town seemed to be anything but human. It was in part exciting, but also terrifying. Elias’s life was becoming more of him accepting that everyone was probably lying to him about something than telling him the truth.

As Marcus brought up their first meeting, Elias squinted. Selkies? Oh. Oh. Recognition washed over Elias’s features as he froze in place. Marcus? Over six-foot tall hulking muscle Marcus? Turned into a seal? Elias should be afraid. He should think about the ramifications of being involved with someone who could turn into something else. But a seal? That’s it? A smile broke out over Elias’s features, leaving him more excited than horrified. For once, he was giddy to learn something new about someone. “Wait, that’s… “he trailed off, not wanting to say what he was thinking. Would Marcus take offense? “That’s really cute.” He finally said, gaze shifting side to side as if he were being caught doing something he shouldn’t.

“What kind of seal?” He immediately asked, excitement shining in Elias’s eyes. For once, he could take this information in without freaking out. He was starting to get it. To accept things. This was good. Marcus was a selkie. A seal person. “I hope you turn into a gray seal, those guys are adorable.”

Marcus was relieved that Elias had responded well, and couldn’t help but feel flattered at being called cute. Still, there was a certain brand of toughness liked to maintain, and Elias was certainly putting a damper on it.

“Northern elephant seal. They’re native to the Pacific Coast, and they’re big. Like, really big. With these loud and mighty roars. In packs, they’ve been known to attack sharks.” He said, hoping that would make seals sound cooler to Elias.

“I’m glad you’re at least responding to that well. I can show you when we’re somewhere with a lot less witnesses. I still like to keep a low profile about it, you know?But anyway, I’d love to answer whatever questions you have for me.”

Upon learning the type of seal that Marcus said he was, Elias pulled out his phone and typed it into google to get a better look at it. Oh, that was… one hell of a seal. Elias tucked his phone away, disguising his disappointment at Marcus not being something cuter. He was really hoping for a small, cute little seal. As Marcus tried to make himself sound cooler, Elias couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, patting the other on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’re very tough. If I need someone to beat up a shark, I’ll call you first.”

Elias took a glance around at everyone, glad they were relatively isolated as they walked together. “Yeah I mean… I don’t think people take kindly to learning that there are people out there that can just shapeshift.” Elias waved his hands in the air as he spoke. “I don’t know what to ask.” Elias then admitted, unsure where to start. “So you just turn into a seal? What else can selkies do?” He decided to ask, brows furrowing at the idea that all Marcus could do was be a seal. Sounded… almost lame.

“Why don’t you like fae?” He then found himself asking, recalling Marcus’s immediate distaste when Elias had told him that he had discovered fae were real. “There some kind of beef there?”

In response to Elias’s comment, Marcus could only shake his head.

“Plenty worse things in the water to worry about than sharks. But don’t worry, I can keep you safe from those too. Well…most of them anyway. And if I ever end up having another giant snake problem, I’ll be sure to call you first.” Marcus said, trying not to add on a perverted snake joke to the end of his comment.

“A lot of shapeshifters tend not to lead with ‘Hey there! I’m not human, please feel free to either kill me or run away now!’. We have to build a certain level of trust before we show that kind of thing, you know? I mean some hide it for more nefarious purposes, wolf in sheep’s clothing type deal. But I hope by now you trust that that isn’t the case for me.”

Now that Marcus thought about it, his ability did seem a little lame. But, wasn’t that true for all shapeshifters? Some people turned into wolves, reptiles, or bird-humanoid things. The whole point of being a shapeshifter was you shifted your shape. And yet, compared to other thing Elias had seen, it must seem so mundane in comparison.

“Sorry to underwhelm you. If it helps sweeten the pot, I can also swim really good, even when I’m in my regular human shape.”

He heard Elias’s question about fae, and why Marcus was so distrusting of them. He led Elias away to a more secluded spot, wanting to make sure nobody would overhear this next part.

“I have another…talent, you could call it. I can steal magic from other creatures. I store it in a pelt that I keep on me at all times. Long story short, I keep it hidden away if I can because a lot of folks have various reasons to want to steal it from me. The fae, as a whole, fall into that group. They would always play tricks and steal from people when I was growing up, and almost tricked me right out of my pelt several times. I always had to be on the lookout for losing something so important to me. Mind you, not all fae are bad, of course. Many are goodhearted. But, I don’t know, I guess it’s a bit of a mental block I’ve never really gotten over. Not being able to let my guard down in fear I’ll lose something so important to me again.”

“If it’s a small enough creature with not enough powers behind it, I can probably take a whack at it,” Elias replied with a crooked smile. “Otherwise, I’m shit out of luck and running away faster than you.” He amended with a shrug of his shoulder, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he cast a glance over to Marcus. “If I ever find myself willingly swimming in open ocean waters, I’ll make sure you’re there with me. But don’t think I’ll do that willingly without clinging to you for dear life. Oceans… they’re scary.” Elias felt a shiver run through his body.

“Well maybe they should!” Elias replied with wide eyes and raised brows. “Would make my life a hell of a lot easier. It’s bad enough when people are just people, but add another layer of potential supernatural chaos creature? It really makes things a hell of a lot harder to digest.” He blinked, realizing he didn’t panic at finding out what Marcus was. “But I didn’t freak out this time, so I’ve got that going for me.” He said with a grin. “One foot in front of the other, I’m getting better at this.”

“You didn’t underwhelm me,” Elias shot back, nudging Marcus with a chuckle. “It’s nice to know that not everyone can herald the coming of death.” He shivered again, thinking to Regan. It was a lot when people had far more power than expected. Just a seal shapeshifter was a breath of fresh air. “At least you’re not a wereseal.” He added with a smirk. “Wonder what that would entail…” He trailed off, now lost in thought of the idea of the wereseal.

“I worked at the Mushroom Circle.” Elias began to say, biting at his lower lip as he thought about what to say next. “Turns out, I was a plaything that they used to entertain themselves. I was a laughing stock. A court jester, if you will.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m starting to realize, as much as I want to know more about them, I’m in danger around them. I almost got killed because I was close to them.” He sighed, slumping back into the seat a little. “Again,” Elias echoed with a quirked brow. “So you’ve lost it before? What happens if you don’t have it?”

“Don’t worry”, Marcus replied, “I’ll make sure you stay real close to me whenever we go swimming. I wouldn’t worry all that much though. The really scary stuff is farther out from shore than any normal human could swim out to.”

“It isn’t that simple…hard to be a truly open book in this world.” He knew all too well how that usually ended for somebody like him. Rejection was one thing, having a sizable portion of people suddenly wanting you dead was something else entirely. “True, you didn’t freak out. I guess considering everything else you’ve been faced with a seal man isn’t too far fetched for you. I’m also really grateful for the whole ‘no were-seal’ thing. I like having control over when I turn.”

Marcus had a spark of recognition as he mentioned a harbinger of death. “Death? You…know a banshee, I’m assuming? It makes a lot of sense why you were so freaked out then. They can be a little intense. Not exactly the whimsical trickster persona you typically associate with fae. Never had a problem with one personally, though.”

Marcus nodded, not seeming very surprised at Elias’s treatment. “That sounds more typical. They love taking the piss out of humans. You might have said or done something to make them single you out that badly though.” Marcus’s face suddenly went stony when Elias called out his mention of “again”. “Yeah…happened not too long ago. Part of why I ended up in this town in the first place actually. It was stolen, but not by a fae. From somebody who was very close to me, actually.” He looked down without saying anything for a while. Here he was trusting again, but why? He was so certain he could trust William, and that clearly didn’t pan out. Why would he think this guy, who he knew for way less time, could be trusted with information so important? If he knew what was good for him, he figured, he’d shut his mouth and walk away while he still could.

“I’m sorry, here I go talking your ear off again. I didn’t mean to interrupt you. By all means, carry on with whatever you were doing before I got here” Marcus said quickly, picking his head back up and turning to walk away from Elias, intent on not looking back.

Trying not to roll his eyes, Elias simply smirked in response to Marcus’s words. He was a flirt, and Elias still wasn’t sure what he wanted. Sure, Marcus was attractive and nice, but Elias wasn’t sure what he wanted out of anything at this point. Oh, get a best friend? She’s a banshee. Meet a nice guy? He turns into a seal for fun! None of this was making sense and it was overwhelming for him.

“So no seal on the full moon, got it. Unless it’s for fun, of course.” Elias spoke with a slow nod. His face fell as Marcus seemed shocked by the idea of Elias knowing a banshee. “Yeah, she’s trying really hard to go back to being strict about her duty.” He paused, then kicked at the ground beneath his foot. “She’s leaving for Ireland, going back to where she belongs.” Elias rolled his eyes. “Or so she claims.”

Elias listened intently as Marcus told him his story, and frowned as he suddenly clammed up and began to walk away. His brows furrowed as he shot a hand out to stop him, but Marcus was already a step out of reach from it. For a moment, Elias let him keep walking. Did he dare tread into uncharted waters? Did he let himself take that small jump? He took a deep breath, then marched after him. “Hey, I’m sorry I made you bring up something you didn’t want to.” Elias called after him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “But if you want to talk, I’m here.” He let his hand fall with a frown. “You don’t have to go at whatever you’re going through alone. God knows I’m tired of going through everything alone.”

Elias wasn’t sure what he was asking for in that moment, but he suspected it stretched further than just what Marcus was going through. Maybe he wasn’t afraid of being with someone. But Marcus, well, he barely knew him. And he turned into a fucking seal, of all things. But he knew if he crossed his line, he couldn’t run away from it. Not again. “So let’s not be alone.” He then said, trying to hold Marcus’s gaze.

At Elias’s insistence that he stay, Marcus wasn’t really sure how to respond. He, of course, wanted to stay. But it all seemed so…reckless? Then again, forming any kind of personal connection came with its own degree of risk.

“No…I’m sorry. You couldn’t have known it was a sore subject.” Marcus said before letting out a long exhale. “Essentially, who I thought was a normal person was another selkie. One who lost his pelt. We tend to get all sorts of fucked up if we don’t have access to our pelts for too long. In fact, it can kill us. So in the process of him getting close to me, he learned all of my weaknesses and vulnerabilities so he could use them against me. Strike at the perfect moment and then make off like a thief in the night. Literally.”

He didn’t like sharing what had happened. In fact, other than the siren he met the night William died, nobody knew that this had happened to him. He felt like an idiot for letting it happen, and felt it made him sound far weaker than he’d like to let on.

“I don’t want to go through everything alone either. I don’t think anybody should have to.” He then grabbed hold of Elias’s hand and said “I won’t go anywhere if you don’t. So the world’s a fucked up place, doesn’t mean we have to suffer through it all in isolation, right?”

Suffering alone was something that Elias had become accustomed to. He’d never had someone who was willing to stand by him when things got tough. But then there was Marcus, holding his hands and throwing everything Elias knew to be true out the window. He took in a breath, then nodded his head in reply. Right.

They were in this together now, the two of them had each other. Elias had someone. And that someone was Marcus. It was overwhelming, but for once, it was in a good way. He knew where he stood and didn’t feel a need to define what it was. “No, I’m not…” he paused, remembering what had happened last time. “I’m not going to run away. Not again.” Elias gave a smile, then nodded his head. He was sure, this time. “I’m done running.”

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