I finally did it, let the angst ensue!
—
"What if Their Best Friend Died?"
Kage
Best Friend: Agnar
The day started out relatively normal, Skylar and Kage going through their normal morning routine. Things only started to feel wrong when, nearly twenty minutes after they'd gotten up, Agnar still hadn't barged into the apartment.
Kage knew his best friend well, he was always one of the first ones up and was always excited to plan the rest of the day first thing in the morning. This meant loudly pushing his way to his best friend and ranting for a few minutes. It was basically a religion at this point to how well the two stuck to it, even if one was feeling under the weather, Agnar was always excited to talk in the early hours of the day.
Starting to get anxious, Kage chewed on his lip and stared at the door, flinching in surprise when a gentle hand ruffled his hair. "I'm sure he's fine, love. Maybe he just got distracted."
Kage hummed, pulling away from Skylar's touch. "I'm going to check on him. This isn't normal."
Sky nodded slightly. "Alright, I'll join you then."
Kage nodded faintly in acknowledgement, already heading toward the door. Ingall, who had been watching with keen eyes, stepped back to let them pass, expression stoic as always. The door opened slower than Kage would like when he knocked, revealing Devery in the doorway.
"Have you seen Angar yet?"
Devery shrugged, cold eyes analyzing Kage's expression carefully. "No. He's probably sleeping in."
Kage clenched his jaw and pushed past the taller into the apartment, ignoring the mumbled apology Skylar sent Devery as he did so as well as Garvin, who looked up with a cigarette in his mouth as he entered. Instead, he beelined to his friends room, knocking harshly before badging in. It was unlocked and looked no different than Kage could recall it looking before. Kind of a mess, things strewn here and there, but no signs of struggle, no blood. The only thing missing was Agnar himself.
"Shit." Kage turned around, only faintly aware of his boyfriends startled expression and Devery analyzing from a distance. "Did Quincy go somewhere?"
Yet again, he didn't wait for an answer before making his way back through the common room to the door.
"Kage-"
"Maybe they ran off together or something, they do that all the time." He attempted to reassure himself, but he couldn't quite convince his mind. Something felt different now. Wrong.
He banged on the door to Chile's apartment, which opened almost immediately, revealing a startled Chile. Again, Kage shoved past into the room, ignoring the flinch from Aries who looked up sharply when Kage entered. Another apology was muttered from Sky, followed by quick reassurance from Chile.
"Kage, what's -"
"Did Quincy go somewhere?"
His question was answered by a head peeking around the corner, bright amber eyes smiling at him. "Not this time! Probably soon though."
Maya appeared a second later as well, hearing the panicked tone of a friend. She glanced at Skylar questioningly, but Kage didn't bother to follow the interaction. Agnar was nowhere to be found, something must have happened.
"Will everyone stop standing around?! Agnar's gone, am I the only one that gives a shit?!" His tone was harsh, panicked. Looks of concern and sympathy were shared around the room and Kage's skin crawled with rising anger, fueled by anxiety.
"Love-"
"Don't! Don't fucking try to talk to me right now, we need to find Agni!"
"Kage, please calm down, we'll find him, I promise." Skylar's voice was calm and warm, familiar, but it wasn't enough. Kage met his eyes, feeling pressure building.
"But what if it's too late? I- I can't lose him too, Sky, I… I can't-"
Arms were around him in moments, pulling him close. "I know, love, but you have to breathe. We'll find him."
Kage fought against the need to cry and nodded weakly as a voice began giving directions in a calm, collected manner.
Chile.
"Maya, could you stay and watch Clio? I'll get Ingall and Oculi to double check the apartments. Quincy, you and Akira can check around the training area that Agnar usually uses, the rest of us can split up and search around the area. Contact me if you find something and we'll work from there."
Everyone moved rather quickly, with not even Quincy questioning the order. Skylar gently pulled back and guided Kage towards the door.
"Come on, let's check the park, he goes there sometimes to relax, right?"
Kage nodded, fighting the emotion and following his boyfriend out the door. The nice weather should have been calming, as should the fact that Skylar never once let go of his hand, but Kage couldn't manage to get his thoughts to slow. If Agnar was really okay then he should have picked up his phone when someone texted. He should be back by now. If Agnar was okay, the group shouldn't have to search for him.
The harsh reality was that Kage knew his best friend really well, they'd met when Kage was ten, and Agnar wasn't someone to just fall off the face of the Earth suddenly.
Kage was so zoned out he didn't even realize that Sky had stopped moving until his hand jerked from lack of movement from the other. Confused, Kage looked back, finding Skylar pale with widened eyes. "What-" He started to follow his boyfriend's gaze, but was stopped when Skylar pulled him to his chest abruptly.
"Not yet. Not yet, I'm going to call Chile."
Kage's blood ran cold and tried to pull away, held in place by Skylar's surprisingly strong grip. "Sky, l-let go, I… I need to see."
"Not in this state." Skylar's voice was strained and he tightened his grip around Kage with one arm as he pulled out his phone and dialed Chile's number with the other. Taking the opportunity that came with Skylar letting go with one hand, Kage quickly pulled away and turned around, eyes falling to the side of the park trail. His heart nearly stopped at the sight and he froze, chest and throat tightening. "Shit, we found him. South side of … Park. Please hurry!"
A strangled cry escaped Kage's lips and he found himself rushing to his friend's side. He pulled the mangled body out from the brush, hot tears crawling down his cheeks as more and more of Agnar's body was revealed. It was a total, gruesome mess. Torn apart nearly beyond recognition. Strips of skin hung loosely off him as though they'd been through a shredder and one of his eyes had been gouged out. What remained of his bow could be found off to the side, splintered and broken down the middle. Everything that Agni had lived completely destroyed.
Shaking violently, Kage desperately brushed at Agnar's cheeks and hair, trying vainly to get rid of the blood, twigs, and leaves that littered his friends face. He wasn't able to speak and could barely breathe, but he desperately wanted to help. It was too late to save him now, but maybe he could better preserve him, make his last image less gruesome, less horrible.
He barely registered the fact that Skylar's hand had fallen into his shoulder once more and gentle words were being whispered in his ear. He only really noticed when Skylar tried to pull him away.
"No…" His voice sounded meek, desperate, and he clung to Agnar's body, tears blurring his vision. "No, let go, I need…"
"Hush, darling, everything will be okay. I need you to let go now, the others are here, we'll figure something out."
"I can't! I can't lose him too! I can't -"
"Shhh, I know, come here." Skylar's voice was calm, almost scarily so, and his touch was gentle as he attempted to pry Kage's hand from Agnar's face. "You have to let go now."
The words were all too familiar, yet, coming from Skylar, they didn't sound like a cruel demand, only an empathetic plee. Forcing his eyes away from his friend, Kage found Skylar's face lined with tears.
Slowly, he let go, turning into Sky and shaking as his partner wrapped him in an embrace and whispered promises into his hair.
"I've got you, everything will be okay."
It wasn't true. Nothing would ever be okay again, but Kage curled into Skylar 's arms nonetheless and trusted him to protect him from any more harm.
As he did so, the agony died down, slowly being replaced by a quiet numbness. It made his ears ring and his mind clear, leaving nothing but the dull, painful thudding of his own heartbeat. A part of him was lost then, and he knew very well that he could never get it back. He was not okay, and he would never be okay.
This was his breaking point.
This was the end.
Fall 
Day 
