When he finally reaches the scene of the battle, Foster feels his stomach lurch. It's worse than he thought.
That explosion he'd witnessed on his way here must have destroyed everything within a five-mile radius. By the looks of it, the auditorium has been reduced to nothing but rubble. Foster swallows hard as he moves to carefully step over the debris.
He has to stay optimistic. Sure, it looks bad, but Lucas is strong.
He knows this. Everyone does. If anyone could have survived something like this, it's him. He has to believe he's okay.
He doesn't know what he'll do if he isn't.
Foster walks with caution, glancing around to ensure no one's sneaking up on him with each step. It's way too quiet. It's suspiciously quiet.
Seriously, what happened here?
And where is Lucas? Deep down, he can't help but fear that the worst came to pass, that Lucas' plan worked and he'd managed to take down Umbra. But if Umbra is gone, then that means Lucas...that he....
Suddenly, as if by magic, he spots someone silhouetted against the clouded sky, limping towards him with their head hung low.
The figure is tall and lean, and they seem to be badly injured. In an instant, Foster finds that he's broken into a run towards the figure, his feet moving before he can even tell them to.
It's him. It's him! Foster knows it is.
His chest feels like it might burst open at any moment as he runs as fast as his legs can carry him. He's alive! His emotions — joy, relief, and that indescribable, yet utterly inescapable one he has yet to put a name to — bubble up and spill over, and he lets out a strained cry.
"LUCAS!"
He sees Lucas' head jerk up up at the exclamation, his lips parted in surprise, and Foster feels his heart swell, leap, soar at the sight of his face.
"F...Foster, I—"
He's unable to get another word out because as soon as Foster catches him to him, he launches himself at him in an embrace. Lucas stiffens at the touch, then relaxes. Foster presses his cheek against his chest, and upon hearing his heartbeat, lets out the breath he'd been holding.
Lucas is still here.
He's still breathing, despite everything. Foster pulls back, one hand moving to rest on his shoulder and the other remaining on the other man's chest to feel the steady thrumming. It's comforting, like a reminder that he's okay.
He's alive.
"Are you okay?" Foster asks, eyes still clouded with worry. Lucas' heart beating against his palm is the only thing keeping him from collapsing into him with broken sobs.
Lucas manages a lopsided smile, clearly weakened by fatigue, and Foster feels his entire world shift off of its axis at the sight. "I'll be fine," he says softly. "I missed you."
There it is, that feeling again, like his heart's going to beat out of his chest.
Then, before Foster can process his emotions, Lucas' eyes start to roll back and he falls forward. Foster, panicked, catches him before he hits the ground and helps him back to his feet with a grunt.
"Here, grab on," he says, looping Lucas' arm over his shoulder to carry his weight.
Lucas leans into him, and Foster's face starts to burn. Man, what's come over him all of a sudden?
"I'm sorry...for everything I put you through," Lucas murmurs, eyes half-lidded as he buries his cheek into Foster's hair.
Foster lets out a breathy laugh. "You better be. You had us all scared half to death. I thought...I thought I'd never see you again."
"I thought the same," Lucas admits. "At least, that was the plan."
Right. Foster averts his eyes, the memory of Lucas' departure resurfacing in his mind.
If things had gone as Lucas had intended, he'd be gone. Umbra would be gone, too, but at what cost? Speaking of which, he wonders why Lucas didn't go through with the plan. And what happened to Umbra, anyway? He looks up at Lucas and, at the sight of him nuzzling into his chestnut locks, feels his expression soften. He'll ask later, he decides. He doesn't want to think about Umbra right now.
All he wants is to be with Lucas, to savor these moments he never thought he'd get to bask in again.
"For what it's worth," Foster says as he starts to make his way back to the carrier with Lucas in tow, "I'm glad the plan fell through."
Unbeknownst to Foster, Lucas' gaze remains fixed on him, his eyes sparkling with what can only be described as pure, undying devotion.
"Yeah. So am I."
