Hearthstone had stopped crying by the time they got back to their shared apartment, only letting out those little shuddering breathes that everyone gets after crying hard. It was hard to tell where he was or how much time had gone by with only touch and smell left of his senses. All he had left was the feeling of Blitzen's arms around him, his face buried in the dwarf's chest. He hated this, he felt so weak and helpless, unable to communicate, do magic, or even more basic things. He couldn't take care of himself at all like this. Blitz tried to put him down on the couch but he refused to let go, clutching even tighter to him in fear. He couldn't be alone right now, wouldn't be able to handle it. Holding onto the dwarf was the only thing keeping him grounded in reality.

Blitz stumbled as Hearth pulled him down onto the couch, getting his balance before bringing his hands up to gently touch his face and run his hands through his soft white hair. He wanted to comfort him but he couldn't communicate to him, restricted to tracing words one letter at a time. All he could do was hold his elf tightly, wiping away his tears and peppering his face with kisses as he tried to calm him down. Hearth pressed into his hands, turning his face to nuzzle his palm.

"Please don't let go"

He signed, making Blitzen's heart seize in his chest with pity

"I won't…. promise"

He traced back on Hearth's chest before the elf wrapped his arms around him, holding onto the shorter tightly. They fell asleep like that, Blitzen laying on top of him with his hands running through his hair, Hearthstone pressing his face into his shoulder and clutching the back of his vest.

When Hearth woke up he was jarred by the darkness, feeling very disconnected from everything. He shifted slightly and realized Blitzen had moved him in his sleep, the familiar feeling of the warm sun bed instead of the soft couch. He wasn't looking forward to trying to figure out how to go about his day with no sight, but he didn't want to lay here all alone with only his thoughts. After a minute he pushed the lid open and sat up before attempting to stand, and immediately slipped and smacked his head on the floor. He lay there in a stunned daze as he felt the vibrations of hurried footsteps coming towards him and then Blitz's hands carefully pulling him into a sitting position, the dwarf having heard the thump of him hitting the ground from the other room.

"You ok?"

He traced rapidly on his palm, and Hearth could easily imagine the worried look on his face. He just nodded as he rubbed his head, feeling embarrassed and ashamed he couldn't even handle getting out of bed in this state. Blitzen's grip on him relaxed a bit and he rubbed a hand over his back before helping him up onto his feet and guiding him to the couch. He got his elf to sit down but kept his hands on him to let him know he was right there with him. He rubbed his hands over his shoulders and back as Hearthstone pulled his knees to his chest, looking very small and gloomy. It hurt to see him like this, reminding Blitz of when he'd first met Hearth. It was jarring to see him scared and weak like this, and hurt even more not being able to do much to help him. He shook himself out of it, needing to focus on what he could do for the elf instead of what he couldn't.

"Hungry?"

He traced on Hearthstone's palm questioningly. The pale man hesitated but then nodded. He didn't really feel like eating but it would give him a distraction from feeling so cut off from everything and trapped in his own head.

"Be back, try to be fast"

Blitzen traced before getting up, leaving him alone on the couch as the other went to whip up some breakfast for him. Hearth sat there with his knees pulled to his chest, finding it so hard to tell time and keep calm with no sight. Luckily Blitz wasn't gone long, returning with a delicious smell of fresh waffles that had the elf sitting up a bit. But then he faltered as he realized he wasn't sure how he was going to eat without sight, least not unless he wanted to make a huge mess. Blitz seemed to have realized this as well and gently cupped the taller's face with one hand as he took the fork and cut off a bite of waffle before bringing it up and nudging it against Hearth's lips. Hearthstone felt his face burn a deep green in embarrassment but opened his mouth, letting the dwarf feed him.

"I'm sorry… I'm just a burden"

Hearthstone signed gloomily when Blitzen had finished feeding him, making him falter. He quickly grabbed his elf's hand and traced back

"Not true"

Hearth just pulled his hands away, curling in on himself even more

"Is too… I don't know why you bother with me"

He sighed stubbornly, his long ears drooping sadly. Blitz froze, having so much he wanted to say, needed to say, about how much he loved and cared for Hearthstone. But he couldn't, not with being restricted to just tracing one letter at a time. All he could do was take Hearth's face in his hands and pull him down into a passionate kiss, desperately trying to put all the things he wanted to say into it. The elf stiffened in surprise, not expecting that response, before hesitantly returning the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Blitzen's shoulders. He rubbed his thumb over Hearth's cheek as he moved a hand down to trace letters on his chest.

"Love you… Not leaving…"

He traced over and over again as he felt the wetness of tears run down Hearthstone's face.

The next week dragged out painfully slow, each day making Hearth more depressed and Blitzen more desperate for some way to fix it, feeling more like a month than a week. Magnus dropped by a few times, mostly on his own, once or twice with Sam and Alex. He was clearly feeling pretty bad about not being able to help with his healing powers and was still trying to find some short cut to reverse it, but he was coming up empty. There was absolutely nothing that could be done besides waiting for him to get better. Hearthstone had gone from following Blitzen around the apartment to just laying on the couch all day, only moving when the dwarf made him get up to take care of himself. His already unstable mental health plummeted the longer this went on, hating being so helpless and feeling trapped in his own head.

Blitzen didn't know how else he could help him besides trying to comfort him with lots of physical contact, slightly frustrated with how limited their communication was but there was nothing else they could do. But after a week he was seriously starting to worry Jack had been wrong and it was permanent, panicking at the thought. He couldn't let Hearthstone stay like this, he'd have to find a way to fix it. But he didn't want to leave his elf in this state either, so he was stuck. Magnus was still looking for a cure but it was a bit frustrating not being able to do anything. He sighed tiredly as he looked over at Hearthstone, who was laying on his side on the couch, unseeing eyes staring straight ahead. He wished he could offer better comfort to him. The dwarf walked over to him and nudged at his shoulder, grabbing one of his hands

"Sleep in my bed tonight?"

He traced on his palm, having gotten faster and better at tracing letters in the past few days. Hearth didn't respond, but he rolled over and pushed himself onto his feet, leaning on Blitzen. He guided the taller back to his bedroom and helped him lay down before leaving for a minute to change into pjs. Hearthstone hadn't moved when he came back, limp and still. It was heartbreaking. Blitz pulled the blankets back and slid into bed next to him, pressing close as he gently touched his face. Hearth still didn't react but light green tears were gathering in his eyes.

"Blitzen… What if I'm stuck like this?"

He signed as the dwarf wiped away his tears.

"I'd stay with you"

Blitzen traced back on his chest, as he pressed even closer, gently kissing him. That response just made Hearth let out a sob and cry harder, clutching onto the shorter tightly. Blitz wrapped his arms around him, rubbing his back and running his fingers through his hair as he nuzzled his shoulder, tears pricking his own eyes.

When Hearthstone woke again he didn't bother opening his eyes, just pressing closer to the warm body next to him and wishing he was still asleep. He didn't want to live through another day unable to do anything. He felt Blitzen shift in bed next to him, rolling over and gently touching his face. He sighed and nuzzled his boyfriend's hands before opening his eyes to let him know he was awake, only to freeze in shock as the darkness he'd grown accustomed to the past few days was gone, seeing blurry shapes and colors. He blinked quickly and his eyes came into focus, seeing Blitzen's face in front of him with a worried look on the dwarf's face. He looked so stressed and tired, bags under his eyes and normally sleek hair fuzzy and unkempt. The past week must have been hard on him too… Hearth was overwhelmed with relief and gratitude for having the dwarf in his life, the only thing he could was grab him by the front of his pj shirt and kissing him passionately.

Blitzen let out a surprised sound against his lips, too startled by the sudden affection to kiss him back. Hearthstone had a huge grin on his face as he pulled back a bit, so happy to be better and get to see Blitz's face again, the dumb surprised but pleased look on his cute face an added bonus.

"I can see again, My eyes are better!"

He signed quickly with excitement and Blitz's eyes widened in understanding

"Oh thank the gods, I was so worried for you"

He said as he sat up and wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him in a tight hug. Hearthstone hugged him back for a minute before pushing back a bit so he could sign to him.

"Did you mean it? What you said last night?"

He signed as he stared at his face, so happy to get to see him again. Blitzen blinked and frowned a bit

"Of crouse I did, I'm not going to just leave you. I love you, my silly elf"

He said with total conviction, making Hearth flush a bit.

"I love you too, dork"

He signed back before practically tackling the shorter in a hug and kissing him lovingly, eyes wet again but with happy tears this time.