Erich drifts awake, exhausted but far too hot to stay asleep, and tries to twist onto his back, tries to throw off the blanket—

Only to blink, groggy and confused, at the way he can’t move. There’s an arm around his chest, pulling him tight to a broad, warm chest, and a leg slung over his, and the flutter of warm breath against the back of his neck, and— and—

(What the hell?)

::Go back to sleep,:: Lergen grumbles.

::Can’t. Hot,:: Erich mumbles back, already debating if he wants to expend the energy to wriggle free of whoever’s grip this is. He’s comfortable, though, even if he’s overly warm, and it seems like so much effort—

Lergen mutters something unintelligible and then something shifts inside them and blessed, blessed coolness radiates out from their core, bringing relief with it.

Relief brings a touch more clarity with it, and Erich wrinkles his nose at the sensation of socks on his feet while he’s in a bed. His slacks are still on, too, and that isn’t much more comfortable, despite the lack of belt, but he can at least do something about the socks.

He shifts his legs a bit, using his feet to pry at his socks, until finally they’re off and his feet are free. And then, just to see if he can, he wriggles a bit. Finds one edge of the blanket. Shoves his feet out into open air.

Breathes a sigh of contented relief.

Relaxes back into the person holding him, and—

Sleeps.

---

Erich feels more like a person the next time he drifts awake, enough to realize exactly who’s holding him.

(He’s—)

(That’s—)

(Why is he in bed with Urahara?!)

He takes a careful breath, struggling to remember the night before—

(Urahara promising a few hours when Erich had expected days at minimum, weeks realistically.)

(Erich battling his rising exhaustion, nothing to keep him occupied except watching Urahara build a naked body—)

(Urahara catching him, carrying him to a hidden bed, Io having opinions about how they should sleep—)

::I can’t believe you insisted on us sharing a bed!:: Erich mentally grumbles as he takes stock of how Urahara is holding him, already planning the best way to escape. He has no desire to stick around long enough for Urahara to wake up and realize what he’s doing, not with… not with…

(He used Urahara’s personal name aloud.)

(No, he’s not dealing with this.)

(Urahara must think him so needy!)

Io giggles at him, though her touch against his mind is warm-kind-caring as she says, ::You both needed your sleep, and this was the best way to ensure you got it.::

::It absolutely was not,:: Erich mutters as he carefully pries Urahara’s arm from around his stomach and then eels free of the man’s grasp and grabs his shirt and glasses from the nearby cabinet. He pauses long enough to tuck the blanket back around Urahara, then drops quietly to the floor and glances around, taking in the lab—

And the naked female body laid out on the table where Urahara left it, eerily blank and doll-like.

Erich turns away with a blush and pads towards the door on bare feet—

(Bare feet?!)

(Oh no…)

He freezes. Debates darting back to— to dig around to find his socks. In the bed that Urahara Kisuke is still sleeping in.

(No, no he can’t risk it.)

(It’s a miracle that Urahara didn’t wake up when Erich wriggled free the first time!)

(There’s no way the man will remain asleep through Erich poking around near the man’s feet.)

(Oh god, this is such a mess…)

He brings a hand up to scrub at his face, feeling exhausted all over again, and slinks out of Urahara’s lab and down the hall to the toilet room. He can sense Tsukabishi near the kitchen, but Ururu and Jinta don’t seem to be anywhere about, which is… maybe a relief? Tsukabishi probably won’t make any comments about his presence, unlike the children, but if he could avoid the man entirely—

::Is there something shameful about your presence here?:: Lergen asks in confusion as they come to stand in front of the sink and stare in the mirror.

Erich flinches a bit at the question. ::Not… not as such. It’s just… our people are not precisely on the best of terms, and the two of us have only recently settled into a truce,:: he answers slowly, reaching up to run a hand over the rough stubble on his chin. He’d prefer to shave it off before it grows much more, but his shaving kit is at his apartment and he’s not about to just use Urahara’s — if the man even has one! — without asking. And he’s not about to wake the man up just to ask.

Lergen considers his words for a moment, then says with some measure of confidence, ::You seem quite a bit closer than people who have only recently gained a truce.::

::I helped him with a problem he felt guilty about,:: Erich responds sharply, not wanting to think too hard about Lergen’s suggestion; his own use of of Urahara’s personal name aside — and isn’t that embarrassing to remember — he doubts the man cares that much about him. ::There’s nothing else to it.::

Lergen scoffs and shoves forward enough to make a face at him in the mirror, their eyes shading towards a brilliant amber. “You are ridiculous,” Lergen announces aloud, even as he pokes curiously at the stubble on their chin. “‘Nothing else to it’, really, you’re going to say that after the way he cared for you last night?”

Erich shoves the other aside and grumpily turns the water on to wash his hands and face. ::We’d just managed to kill Yhwach and save the Three Worlds from destruction,:: he mutters in exasperation. ::And Kurosaki-kun cares about me, which makes Urahara-san more interested in my survival than he would otherwise be.::

::You—:: Lergen cuts himself off with a strangle noise of frustration, then heaves a sigh and continues with, ::Never mind. Just know that when you finally realize what’s going on, I am going to laugh at you,:: before retreating back into the depths of Erich’s soul.

::Hey! Don’t just— the hell do you mean?!:: Erich protests as he straightens up and glowers into the mirror, as if he can pull Lergen back to the surface by force of will alone. There’s a sinking sensation in his stomach and an idea niggling at the back of his mind, planted there by Lergen’s words, but… but surely not. It’s barely been a full day and Lergen doesn’t know any of them, he can’t be right.

Erich turns away from the mirror with a grimace and pulls a towel over to dry his face and hands on, forcefully shoving the unformed niggling aside as he does: there’s nothing going on, nothing to read into, it’s just… nothing. It’s nothing. His own clinginess is certainly just a result of his exhaustion while around someone he mostly trusts. Urahara’s is probably similar—

(Well, or just the way Urahara always sleeps.)

(Either or.)

—and it all means nothing, no matter what Lergen wants to read into it.

::Anything to add?:: he aims at Io, tone sharp with annoyance.

Io hums, fond-warm-understanding, and says, ::No, though I still think sharing a bed was for the best last night. You were both wound tight from that nightmare, and you do trust Urahara-san, at least enough to have him guard your rest. Whether there’s anything else there… does it matter? Companionship is important, no matter what form it takes.::

Erich turns her words over in his mind while he shrugs his shirt on and carefully buttons it up, straightens the collar, then tucks it properly into his pants. He’s still a bit annoyed that he didn’t grab a belt the night before, but he’ll live. This isn’t the worst he’s ever been under-dressed, after all.

Io’s statement, though…

It makes some amount of sense, he supposes; after he settled back into post-war life and to having Alexis around, he did start sleeping better to an extent, but… the idea that he’d get the same sort of comfort out of sleeping next to Urahara? Has it truly been so long since he’s had any sort of companionship that he’d accept even a Shinigami?

(Except Urahara really isn’t much of a Shinigami, not really, not where it matters.)

(But is that really enough to make him comfortable enough to sleep next to the man?)

Exasperated by his twisting thoughts, Erich shakes his head and tries to focus on finger-combing his hair into some semblance of order.

(It doesn’t matter how well he slept, he’s not doing it again.)

Mind made up and personal grooming taken care of, Erich slips his glasses on and leaves the room, heading towards the kitchen; now that he’s slept a decent amount, his body is starting to remind him that he hasn’t eaten in… a while. And that a single mug of miso soup is distinctly not enough when he’s started to grow used to regular meals again.

“Good afternoon, Rerugen-san” Tsukabishi greets him as he steps into the kitchen.

“Afternoon…?” Erich pauses and glances out the window, staring at the sunlight outside in an attempt to judge the hour; unfortunately, the little lot is a bit too small for him to accurately find the sun’s angle, and he can’t actually read the clock on the microwave at this distance.

Tsukabishi makes a noise of agreement as he opens the fridge. “It’s a little after five in the afternoon,” he informs Erich as he pulls something out and sets it on the counter. “I estimate that you and Kisuke have been asleep for almost twelve hours.”

“Twelve…?” Erich drops into a seat at the table and rubs at his temple, wondering how the hell he managed to sleep for twelve hours with Urahara clinging so tightly to him.

(He must have been more exhausted than he thought.)

(But also, how did Urahara sleep for twelve hours without getting restless?)

(He’s seen exactly how rare it is for Urahara to sleep for more than four hours at a stretch.)

(So why so long this time…?)

(…because of him…?)

(Surely not.)

(…right…?)

And then Tsukabishi’s words truly register and Erich feels his cheeks heat in embarrassment, even as Io and Lergen give him near-simultaneous nudges, both of them carrying a sense of amusement about them that he refuses to think about.

Still, the fact that Tsukabishi knows that he and Ki— Urahara shared a bed is— is—

(No, he expected the other to know, he just hadn’t expected the oblique comment.)

(Fuck, at least Ururu and Jinta aren’t around right now.)

“Here,” Tsukabishi says as he places a tray down in front of Erich. “Let me know if you’re still hungry when you finish this.”

Erich blinks at the tray filled with what looks like a double serving of breakfast, then looks up at Tsukabishi and arches an eyebrow in question; it’s not usual for the man to give him so much, so why…?

Tsukabishi just fixes him with a dry look and says, “Kisuke told me what happened.”

“Ah.” Erich hesitates for a moment, debating whether or not he should ask Tsukabishi exactly what Urahara told him, then shoves the thought aside and pulls the tray closer in order to eat.

::You— wait, you need all this?:: Lergen shifts closer to ask. ::I know… last night, Urahara-san indicated that you needed to eat to heal, but…::

::I’m Quincy, but Quincy are only human,:: Erich says with a touch of amusement, then pauses as he remembers what Lergen had said the night before. ‘Revenants’, the man had called himself and Io, and Erich had assumed it was just… another type of label, similar to ‘Quincy’; just another variant of humanity that came with specific powers, maybe with a need for blood to support those powers, but… ::You… don’t, do you?:: he asks softly, even as he takes a bite of fish.

::Just blood,:: Lergen confirms easily. ::We can eat and drink without issue, but it does nothing for us—::

::Except make you drunk,:: Io chimes in, tone cheerfully innocent in a way that Erich doesn’t trust in the slightest.

::Io!:: Lergen protests, then huffs when she simply laughs. ::Fine, yes, alcohol can still get us drunk,:: he mutters grumpily.

Erich snorts at the sheer sheepish embarrassment that Lergen is radiating and can’t help but ask, ::Found that out the hard way, I take it?::

Lergen mumbles something that Erich can’t catch, then sighs when Io gives him a mental poke and says, ::I don’t have any memories, and no one considered what that really meant in this case. So when Yakumo offered me a drink…::

::Ah,:: Erich murmurs in understanding, already knowing exactly where this is going: Lergen, surrounded by people who knew their limits and expected him to know his, had simply… drank too fast. Possibly on an empty stomach, since revenants have no need for food, which only made the issue worse. ::Happens to everyone at least once,:: he offers with a touch of sympathy, remembering his own first (unsupervised) experience with hard alcohol.

Not something he’d ever want to repeat, if he’s being honest, and it feels like Lergen has the same opinion on the topic.

He slowly works his way through the food, making sure to take his time to avoid bothering his stomach, and considers what he’d just learned. ::Are you… will you need to drink blood while you’re… ah… part of me?:: he hesitantly asks.

The question clearly takes Lergen aback, the man’s presence almost seemed to freeze before he slowly replies, ::I don’t know. Io…?::

::I am unsure as well,:: she says after a moment. ::Perhaps in time? But this is not… this is not something that can happen in our world. Or… or perhaps it can, in a way? But my Erich is not a Relic, and I do not sense any hint of rejection from the two of you.::

::Rejection? Relic?:: Erich questions, wondering what Io is referring to; he supposes that ‘rejection’ could relate to the way they’ve merged so smoothly, but… ‘Lergen is not a Relic’?

Shame-guilt-regret radiates from Lergen, heavy enough to make Erich regret his questions; whatever happened to the man, it’s clearly related to one, if not both, of those terms.

::I don’t actually remember the true start of it all,:: Lergen says quietly, his mental presence coiled into a tight knot. ::Monsters invaded, I suppose it goes. Monsters that humanity couldn’t fight, so… so they created revenants like myself from dead humans. But revenants need blood, and if we don’t get it, we go into a frenzy and become Lost, turning into more monsters.::

Erich winces at the confirmation that Lergen would eventually need blood, hating the knowledge and also wondering exactly how he’s going to handle it when the time comes; there’s no way he knows of to make drinking blood palatable, and he doesn’t even know if Lergen can gain anything from Erich drinking it—

(Wait.)

(Maybe that means Lergen won’t need it, since this is Erich’s body?)

Lergen doesn’t seem to notice his distraction, but Io does; she brushes a gentle touch against his mind and murmurs, ::We will do what we can to help you,:: so softly that Erich barely registers it.

::So a new project was begun, Project Queen,:: Lergen continues. ::The goal was to discover a way around a revenant’s need for blood, but in the end… in the end, it all went horribly wrong. Cruz… the woman who was the subject of Project Queen… she frenzied. And then Operation Queenslayer was begun. And I ended it.:: He pauses, his presence twisting in-in-in as shame-guilt-regret echoes like a gunshot between them, devouring any words he might be trying to say, drowning everything in a vortex of emotion—

Erich clenches his jaw. Takes a few steady, calming breathes. Reaches—

Drags Lergen’s presence free from the maelstrom and holds the man close, cradling that flickering spark of being in his mental hands, gentle-steady-firm. ::Just breathe,:: he murmurs at the man. ::You’re fine. You’re safe.::

Lergen laughs wetly, presence clinging to Erich’s like a drowning man clutching at a plank, and says, ::I don’t even remember most of Operation Queenslayer. Just the last of it. Just the fight, and the way I killed her, the blood I drank, the way it burned…:: He laughs again, pressing a familiar-unfamiliar memory of a young woman with brilliant blue eyes cupping his cheek towards Erich, then follows it up with another, this time of the silver-haired man from their nightmare, hand raised and expression grim. ::Jack killed me,:: he whispers. ::I killed the Queen and I drank her blood, and it burned. It burned, but I was still— I was still me, I think. And he killed me. Or… or tried to, at least. Because what if I frenzied like everyone else who’d drunk her blood? What if I became another Queen? We’d barely managed to kill the first, they couldn’t… they didn’t dare leave it to chance. Better to ash me while it was still possible than have to face another immortal monster across the battlefield!::

::But you lived,:: Erich says softly, carefully keeping his horror at Lergen’s story away from the man.

(To think his other had been forced through this!)

::I lived. Somehow,:: Lergen agrees with another rough bark of laughter. ::It was… quite a shock to Jack, when he saw me again. I guess… I guess he regretted what he did. But he… he probably shouldn’t. Maybe things would have turned out better if I hadn’t become the Successor of the Blood. If I hadn’t survived being ashed, then maybe…:: His words die with a hiss, and he somehow manages to tuck himself even closer, pulling Erich’s presence around him like a wall. ::No. Never mind. You wanted to know about rejection and Relics,:: he says, clearly shoving everything else aside. ::Rejection is… like when I drank the Queen’s blood. It’s a revenant’s body rejecting the change its gone through, usually resulting in true death or a frenzy. Relics are… parts of the Queen. I killed her. I watched her turn to ash. But she… she apparently started to regenerate. So to prevent her revival, they carved her body up into Relics and implanted them into other revenants to keep them separate and contained. I didn’t realize it until much later, but I… I have the Relic of the Blood. Or I did, at least? I don’t… I don’t know if I still have it, and I don’t know if there’s any way to check for it.::

::I am uncertain if it came across with us,:: Io adds with a touch of regret. ::I am sorry that I cannot entirely answer that, but… it is possible. I’m still here, and you are still my Successor, but is that because you remain a true Successor, or because I refused to be unmade like the other Attendants were? I don’t know. I’m sorry.::

::Don’t be. It’s not your fault,:: Lergen says firmly, then sighs and gives the impression of shaking his head. ::I apologize for dumping all of that on you,:: he directs at Erich, regret clinging to his presence. ::You asked a simple question and I… did that.::

Erich shakes his head and picks at the food in front of him, cautiously taking another bite just to see if he can. ::It’s fine, I don’t mind,:: he tells Lergen. ::It helped me understand.:: And it did, even if a part of him would have preferred to never know; a world like that, caught in such turmoil, where he died and his body was used to create an undead soldier…

No, that’s not a world he ever wished to know about.

But Lergen and Io are here now, and they helped him save this world and all the people in it, so he’s going to do his best for them. Right now, that just means helping Lergen recover and getting Io a body so she doesn’t vanish, but… but maybe… maybe Kisuke will be able to help him figure out how to do more for them.

Mind made up, Erich focuses on his food, leaving Lergen to rest in the shelter of his presence.

(There will be time for more discussion later.)

(For now, they both need to recover.)