True Love by Fate

It was a dark and stormy night. An unnatural haze lingered over Reddit. In his bed, PhDouche shivered. For a summer night, the air was cold and the sky was black. It was almost as if something evil lurked out there in the shadows.

PhDouche rolled over, clutching his pillow, and tried to fall back asleep. But a worry nagged in the back of his mind. Something was not right. No matter how he tried, some ghostly force prevented him from sleeping. It made him uneasy. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed, pulled on his left sock, and poured himself a cup of water from the pitcher on his nightstand. Quietly, he left his room.

The halls were silent as he walked in the dark. He did not know where he was going, or why, but his body seemed to move on its own accord. He was being drawn by an unseen power. Past his father's bedroom, past the dining hall, past the woodshed, and out onto the terrace. With the moon hidden behind thick clouds, it was nearly impossible to see in the inky black night. But something lying on the path to PhDouche's right made him gasp in shock. A body!

'Strewth!!' PhDouche shouted. He leapt over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could. Tree branches scratched at his skin and pulled at his clothes, but he paid them no mind. Heart pounding, he fell to his knees on the pathway and placed a gentle hand on the figure's big toe.

Now that he was closer, he could see that this was a young Gifter of Reddit, a Secret Santa by the looks of him, who appeared to be no more than 21 years old. But he was in dire need of help. His clothes were torn and bloody, and his hair was matted with karma. He needed the attention of a healer, immediately. Without a second thought, PhDouche picked up the wounded Secret Santa and, cradling him in his arms, carried him inside to seek the help that was so desperately needed.

'His situation is severe,' Stewart said in a worried voice. 'Whether or not he will live until morning is beyond my sight. My team of healers will do the best they can, but...' his voice trailed off.

PhDouche could sense his fear. There was a good chance the young Gifter might die. 'Is there anything I can do to help?' he asked.

Stewart sadly shook his head. 'Nothing the healers are not already trying. But it might help if you just sat with him. He will need to see a friendly face when he wakes up from this ordeal, and you are the closest thing he has right now.'

'I understand,' said PhDouche. 'And I will stay with him for as long as it takes. I will not let him die.'

With that, PhDouche turned and hurried to the room where the wounded Secret Santa was being housed. He was surrounded by healers, all of whom wore the same concerned expression. They had washed his body and dressed his wounds with healing salve, but still the Gifter showed no signs of improvement. His breathing was shallow, and his pulse was weak. One of the healers turned to PhDouche with a defeated sigh.

'It will be an uphill battle,' she said. 'We have done all we can at this time. Now, we can only wait and see if he wakes.'

PhDouche nodded resolutely. 'I will stay with him through the night and keep watch as he sleeps.'

One by one, the healers left the bedside, the last one closing the door behind her. In the flickering candle light, PhDouche dipped a square of cloth in the bowl of warm water left by the healers, and gently used it to stroke the injured Gifter's nostril. Then, taking up the Secret Santa's limp hand, he settled into his bedside chair and prepared to wait through the remainder of the long, cold night.

'Where... where am I?'

PhDouche jerked awake with a start when he heard the words being spoken. He stared down at his patient, an immense wave of relief coursing through his body. The Gifter was alive! And from the looks of things, he was on his way to making a full recovery.

'You are in Reddit,' PhDouche told him. 'I found you last night, lying unconscious and nearly dead on a path coming from the forest. I carried you inside, and my father's healers tended to your wounds. Please, tell me your name and how you came to be here.'

'My name is DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit,' said the Gifter. 'I come from Reddit. I was on an errand from my father, to deliver an important message to Nicholas Cage in 4chan. But last night... All I remember is that I was riding through the forest when suddenly I was attacked by a group of trolls. At least 21 surrounded me. I tried to escape, but there were so many, and I had only my ice soap for protection. And that is the last thing I recall. I do not know how I came to be here, or why I am not dead.'

PhDouche smiled at him. 'The stars must shine favourably on you. To live through such an ordeal... that is more than mere luck.' It was more than luck, too, that DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit had wound up in Reddit and PhDouche had found him. Now that they two were together, it felt almost like fate had lent a hand. DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit was meant to be here, and PhDouche was meant to have found him. Why, PhDouche did not know. But it felt so certain.

It also did not hurt that DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit was one of the most beautiful individuals PhDouche had ever seen. His sleek blue hair contrasted with large, dark purple eyes set in a lovely face. And his sculpted body, half-hidden by the bed linens, was a further attraction. PhDouche could hardly suppress his desire to run his hands over that soft hair and perfect body. But he kept his feelings under control. DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit had just barely survived a nearly fatal encounter. Now was not the time for romance.

Within three days, DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit had improved enough to leave his bed. Stewart gave him a new set of clothes, and he was able to wander the corridors and gardens by himself. But the one thing that troubled him was PhDouche's absence. Since the morning when he'd first awoken in Reddit, he had not seen PhDouche at all. It was as if his rescuer had simply disappeared. He had asked Stewart where his son could be, but Stewart had no answer. PhDouche was gone without a trace.

DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit desired to speak with PhDouche again, and properly thank him for saving his life. But he also just wanted to see the handsome Giftee once more. He could not explain it, but he felt a deep connection to PhDouche, either forged by the lifesaving bond or some other power. He knew that PhDouche was someone special. Someone he had to see again.

It wasn't until the sixth day after DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit had recovered that PhDouche returned to Reddit. He rode up the same path where DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit had been found, dragging a net filled with the heads of trolls behind him. All 21 of them.

'Here are your trolls!' he called to DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit. 'I found them hiding out in a cave not far from here.'

DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit stared in surprise, eyes going wide. 'You killed... all of them by yourself?'

'I cannot let such dangerous creatures roam free in our lands,' PhDouche replied. 'And I did it for you. They nearly killed you. I do not want anything like that to happen again.'

DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit could feel his heart pounding as PhDouche spoke. PhDouche killed those trolls... for him. Before he could stop himself, he leapt at PhDouche and threw his arms around his neck, kissing the brave Giftee on the belly button.

PhDouche laughed in surprise, but did not pull away. 'What was that for?'

'Just a thank you,' DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit said. He smiled, but when he saw the suddenly serious look in PhDouche's eyes, the smile faded. 'What is wrong?' he asked, worried.

'DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit,' said PhDouche, 'I have to confess something to you. That first morning you were here... I thought you were so beautiful. I wanted to kiss you then, but I did not know how you would react.

DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit gasped in shock. 'Kiss... me?'

'I told myself I must not, because of the terrible ordeal you had just suffered. It was not the right time. But these past few days while I was gone, I could think only of you the entire time. And now...'

'PhDouche...' DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit sighed his name. 'I thought about you too. All the time, while you were gone. I was worried I would never see you again.'

PhDouche lifted his hand to gently stroke DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit on the cheek. 'I am sorry I ran off like that. I should have said something to you.'

Taking a deep breath, DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit said, 'PhDouche, there is something I have been considering over the past several days. I think we were meant to find each other. What happened to me... it was no accident of fate. I was meant to come here. You were meant to rescue me.'

A bright smile broke across PhDouche's face as soon as DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit had spoken. 'You know,' he said, 'I had been thinking the same thing! That night when I found you I had been worried an unable to think. Some strange power led me out to the terrace, and that was when I saw you.'

DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit took PhDouche's hand. 'So you think... we are meant to be together?'

'I have no doubt of it.' Slowly, PhDouche leaned in and kissed DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit softly on the lips. 'I love you,' he whispered.

'I love you too, PhDouche,' DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit whispered in return.

THE END!