When he opened his eyes, he frowned at the too bright sun coming in through the window. The light was abnormal, like coming out of a dream. He ran a hand over his chest, not encountering any drop of blood or pain, only deep peace. He turned his head to the shadow to his right and met the image of a young man with dark brown hair and tanned skin sleeping, leaning against the mattress.

The injured one moved a bit, and felt the bandage covering his chest and face. The door opened silently and a large lion entered.

"You are finally awake," the animal declared, and yet the sleeping young man did not wake up.

"Aslan? What happened? I thought I was killed..." he whispered.

Aslan nodded softly, not hiding the truth from him. "Prince Caspian had a choice between bringing you back, or his father. And he chose you."

Brocéliande felt his breathing stop for a second, in shock. The faun turned his head to see the weary dark circles of the future King as he slept against the mattress, then his green eyes met the golden ones of the lion.

"But why?" whispered the faun. "Why did you give me this chance? Why did you allow him to bring me back, and not his father?"

The big cat smiled softly as he stood at the foot of the bed.

"I left him the choice, I can not answer the why, only he can. As for my proposal... Brocéliande, you were one of the only ones to believe in me after all these years, and I wanted to thank you. And also congratulate you on the courage and loyalty you have shown to Caspian. You have gone beyond your anger and your pain, and you have helped Caspian to do the same."

oOo

A snore made him jump.

The faun suddenly opened his right eye, to see the silver curtains of the four-poster bed he was in. A movement to his right startled him again, before he caught sight of the prince's warm brown gaze.

Caspian frowned, the movement of the faun having woken him up, when he met his deep green gaze. Relief washed over him and he smiled at Brocéliande, even though the latter looked a little lost.

"... Caspian?" he breathed, his voice hoarse.

The prince nodded, taking a shaky breath, and Brocéliande extended a hand to him. The human grabbed his hand, eyes shining.

"I... I thought..." Caspian whispered, unable to finish his sentence so tight his throat was.

Brocéliande slowly raised his hand to stroke his cheek, gently, tenderly. He wiped away a stray tear with his thumb, before Caspian began to sob for good.

Brocéliande pushed himself a little, letting the young man lie down beside him. Caspian put his arms around him before burying his face in the faun's neck. Brocéliande put his arm around his back, and let the young man calm down.

"Hrrmpf !!" Brocéliande whimpered, and Caspian immediately pulled back, wiping his eyes.

"Sorry!"

The faun lightly pressed a hand on his bandage, the pain was sharp, but slowly subsiding. He turned his head to Caspian, who was still wiping his eyes, and Brocéliande finally noticed his rich blue clothes. He turned his head, his green eye catching a glimpse of gray stone walls, and a bay window where the moon lit up between the pearly curtains.

"Where are we? "

Caspian followed his gaze, before grabbing his hand like he had since Aslan brought him back to life.

"In the Telmarin Castle," the young man replied, prompting Brocéliande to look at him. "We won. And now... I'm the King."

Brocéliande smiled softly, stroking his cheek, before recalling his strange dream with Aslan.

"I..." the faun began, hesitating. "Wasn't I... dead?"

Caspian swallowed before nodding, the pain of his loss still strong.

"But how?" murmured Brocéliande.

"Aslan," Caspian confessed, hesitating to tell him about the choice he must have made.

Brocéliande understood that it was really Aslan who had come to see him in a dream.

"Why? Why me?" the faun asked, and felt Caspian's throat tighten. Did he make the wrong choice in choosing the faun? The young king was beginning to be worried. "Why did you choose me over your father?"

The king sighed as he sat up against the bedpost, nervously tapping his heel against the sheets. Brocéliande frowned at his sudden anxiety and affectionately grabbed his hand.

"I... I..."

"Caspian?"

The young man avoided the gaze of the faun who tried to sit down, before being stopped by pain. He moaned deeply as he clenched his teeth.

"No, stay in bed," Caspian whispered, placing the pillow back under his friend's head.

Brocéliande obeyed, awaiting the human's response.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" the faun worried. "I am your friend..."

"Yeah, I know... it's just... that's exactly the problem."

Caspian sighed as the Narnian frowned and pursed his lips. The human gathered his courage, still avoiding the pine green gaze that gave him butterflies in his belly.

"I couldn't see a life without you," the Telmarine finally confessed. "That's right... I could have chosen my father... but living without you..? You saved my life, and I'm not talking about the last battle. You saved my life facing Nikabrik that day, you saved my life when we were attacked by the Telmarine patrol, you saved my life when I had to face the Narnians, you supported me during this suicide operation, you prevented so many deaths that night ... and you saved me from the White Witch. None of this would have been possible without you, and don't deny it! You saved me so many times, and you changed my life. And I... I couldn't... I didn't feel able to move forward without you. You make me come alive, and I... I... "

Caspian took a deep breath before turning his head to the injured faun.

"Everything you bring to my life ... I couldn't give up that second chance, give up telling you that... that I..."

The King stopped, lowering his head again, teeth clenched as he felt his heart was going to break his rib cage.

Brocéliande squeezed his hand, his own heart pounding. Was it possible? Could the prince .. No, could the King really share his feelings? Was that really why he had chosen him instead of his father? Because he... loved him?

"Caspian..." the faun whispered, his visible green eye vibrating with hope.

The king turned his head towards him, his eyes worried.

"I love you too."

Caspian was in shock, and the Narnian was suddenly afraid that he had misinterpreted what his friend was trying to tell him.

"Alright, I screwed up right?" muttered the faun, grabbing his curly hair. "Of course I screwed up, how could you love me, we're not even the same species. Two males, already it's hard to get past, but a faun and a human? By Aslan, I'm sorry , I didn't want to mess- "

He stopped dead in his tracks when a pair of lips pressed his. It was just a squeeze, but it was enough to leave him speechless, eyes wide, and jaw hanging down. The King smiled softly, stroking his cheek, leaning over him.

"I love you," he breathed, and Brocéliande smiled, relieved. "I love, love, love you !"

Caspian began to pepper his face with kisses, and the faun laughed softly, a soft warmth warming him from within. He buried his hands in the human's almost ebony hair before drawing his lips to his for a long kiss. They felt warm from the inside, quivering as the emotions overwhelmed them. This kiss broke under their knowing smiles, and before Caspian could stop it, Brocéliande gently ran his thumb over the King's right temple, close to his eye. A pink scar crossed the corner of his eyebrow and continued under his eye, before crossing another scar that ran from his temple to his cheekbone.

"It's okay," reassured the king in the face of his lover's worried gaze. "It doesn't even hurt anymore anyway."

The faun gently shook his head, his right eye gently following the mark.

"You already have your fair share of wounds and scars," whispered Brocéliande, to whom the Telmarine had confided a lot about how his uncle had treated him all these years.

Caspian sighed, resting his forehead against the faun's, his eyes closed.

"It's over now," reassured the King, and Brocéliande simply sighed, regretting the wound that was burning him and preventing him from hugging Caspian tightly.

The human's yawn made him chuckle softly, and Caspian slid onto his right side, resting his head on his collarbone.

"I love you," he yawned. "So much."

The faun wrapped his right arm around him, his left hand gripping Caspian's that rested against his chest. The heat radiated from both of their bodies was beneficial, and Caspian felt his eyes close in spite of himself.

"I love you too," the faun whispered, kissing his hair. "My king."

Caspian smiled as he pulled the blanket up correctly to cover them before laying down again. He knew he would have to deal with his people's opinions and rumors, but for now, he was enjoying his found lover, and he inwardly thanked Aslan. The last thing he heard before falling asleep was the soft roar of a lion, welcoming and loving.

And he knew that everything would be fine.

oOo

There you go, this is the end (..?) Let me know if you liked it and if you want bonus or a part 2.

And, if that makes some people uncomfortable, Brocéliande is Asexual. I wrote it only romantically, and it initially felt very normal. I didn't feel the need to clarify it, because you don't always know when someone is Ace, but I had a few comments that found the different species of pairing a bit disturbing, so I tell you here.

Dirus