Time to Panic?

[fashioneebo]

[A picture goes up on Mikleo's feed. It just looks like the side of the library, but in a pose that seems like it's meant to be a selfie. Weirdly, there's no Mikleo in sight.]

Mikleo Doushi-Lefay 2/1/2018 near Recolle Library

Oh my god, okay, so even cameras can't see me??? What the fuck Uh. So. I tried checking out a book. The librarian can't see me. I tried asking around to see if maybe it was just something innocuous. Turns out, nobody can see me. Or hear me, for that matter. God I hope this is temporary and not what I think it is.

Comments

[openhanded]

[Sorey's basically clinging with his fingers at this point. He can tell Mikleo's freaked out.]

Try something...?

[Sorey jumps again as his partner turns into a ball of light. It's solid proof that he's a seraph now, not a human, and he feels his heart twist at the confirmation. He holds his hands over his heart and closes his eyes as the seraph sinks into him.

He remembers this-- this, the seraphim orbing in and out of him like it's no big deal. He remembers the warm feeling, even if it happened to the other Sorey. Carrying Mikleo's weight doesn't feel heavy at all. He feels... nice. Loved. Not alone. Sorey wonders if Mikleo can sense all the love he's sending him right now.]

I'll keep you safe, [he whispers, more to himself than anyone else.]

[fashioneebo]

[Mikleo can't exactly sense Sorey's emotions, but he knows he's loved. He can hear it in the brunet's voice when he whispers that promise. It helps him to settle more comfortably in his vessel.]

I'll keep you safe, too. I'm not a damsel in distress, you know.

[At least he's not getting any kind of indication that his husband is uncomfortable with this. On the other hand, Mikleo has to say that he does feel safe, somehow. He uses that feeling to ground himself and beat down his panic.]

Home?

[openhanded]

[Sorey chuckles weakly at that. He knows Mikleo's not a damsel in distress, but... he still needs a vessel.]

Yeah. Let's go home.

[He'll come back and get Mikleo's books later, when they're not both freaking out. It's so weird to walk calmly by everyone and get in the car, knowing Mikleo's there but not seeing him or--]

Oh... [He turns the ignition and steadies himself a moment.] ... It's-- it's weird not holding your hand.

[fashioneebo]

[Mikleo unintentionally makes a slightly distressed sound at that comment. It is weird. He never thought he'd take something so small for granted until now.]

I'm sorry.

[It's hard to describe how he feels. Guilty, maybe ashamed. His heart's a complicated mess of emotions at the moment.]

I'll make it up to you when we're home.

[Granted, it's as much for Mikleo as it is for Sorey. It's...kind of hard to feel like he's actually real when nobody acknowledges his existence.]

[openhanded]

No, don't apologize. It's not your fault. None of it is.

[He wants to hold Mikleo so badly but they're in public. He'll have to rectify that at home ]

I love you.

[He gently pulls into traffic. Despite his own trembling, it's an uneventful ride back. Sorey goes a little fast but nothing life threatening. He unlocks their shared apartment and kicks off his shoes, and then he just waits for Mikleo to come back out. He even holds out his hands.

In the meantime, their kitten meows balefully and winds around Sorey's feet.]

[fashioneebo]

I love you, too.

[Mikleo's silent the whole way back. He's glad nothing else happens on the way home. He's pretty sure neither of them will be able to handle anything else with a clear head until they really process what's happened.

Once Sorey's entered the apartment and is ready, he reappears outside of his body and scares the cat with the suddenness. Mikleo immediately hugs the brunet tightly, burying his face against his neck. He's trembling a little in his arms.

He doesn't really have any words at the moment.]

[openhanded]

[Sorey takes Mikleo into his arms and holds him tightly, warmly, as if he can squeeze all of the badness out of the situation by love and light alone. He loses his fingertips in the back of Mikleo's shirt.

It's not okay, and he can't offer much in the way of platitudes. But he can try. After a minute of hugging, he tenderly shifts his grip so he can pick Mikleo up and carry him into the living room. Sorey lays back on the couch and pulls Mikleo on top of him so they can cling to each other properly.]

[fashioneebo]

[For once, Mikleo doesn't protest being carried over to the living room. He's easily pulled on top of Sorey, shifting to make sure they're both comfortable as he clings to his husband. After a moment, the now seraph kicks off his shoes and lets them fall to the floor with soft, twin thuds. Mikleo takes his hair down, putting the hair-tie around his wrist.

His thoughts are a mess and they're only getting messier as the silence grows. So, he breaks it in a mixture of reluctance and a need for relief.]

I could...withdraw from my classes for the semester. [Mikleo swallows a lump in his throat.] It's...It's not too late to get a refund.

[It's hard, though. All that time, all that effort into trying to make their dream a reality...it feels like it's just been wasted within a day.]

[openhanded]

[Sorey makes a soft noise of surprise as Mikleo offers that. He shakes his head and hugs Mikleo tighter, worrying the back of his shirt even more.]

No. No way. We're like four months from graduating. That's not happening, Mikleo.

[They've been working toward this their whole lives. Putting it off for a few months isn't going to help anything. They're graduating together whether or not this damn city is still standing.]

We'll get a medical exemption. I'll bring you your classwork, since we have the same classes, and you can do your work from home. You don't have to give it all up for this.

[fashioneebo]

[Mikleo shuts his eyes tightly, burying his face into his husband's shoulder.]

Only if I can still come with you to class.

[Just learning from a book isn't enough for him. He wants to hear what the professor has to say. More importantly, he wants to learn alongside Sorey. It's why he didn't go straight to college after high school.]

L-looks like you'll be getting that teaching job a lot earlier than we planned.

[There's no way they can do archaeology with the world the way it is right now. Even then, it'd be difficult with the way Mikleo being an unseen entity.]

[openhanded]

I never said you couldn't, [His throat hurts from trying not to cry too but he's holding it together as best as he can. He needs to be Mikleo's rock right now.] But obviously I'm gonna take home packets and stuff for you so it looks like you're doing work. I-I don't mind being your go-between.

[He huffs a breath and turns his head so he can press a kiss into Mikleo's hair. Then he leaves another one, and another one after that...]

We're still gonna travel the world. We're still gonna do everything we said we'd do. Our dreams haven't disappeared.

I won't let-- [His voice is low and fervent, rough and honest as his spirit is unyielding.] I won't let our past take away our future.

[fashioneebo]

[He laughs, but there's not much humor in it. Still, Mikleo appreciates what Sorey's trying to do for him.]

Seems like I'm putting you back into that position.

[The seraph grips Sorey's shirt tightly. He bites his lip to prevent a sob at that part, but a soft whimper still escapes him as well as a couple of tears. At least this weakness will pass, as long as he lets it out now before he's corrupted by it.]

Okay.

[Mikleo sounds meek and a little brokenhearted. It's very unlike him, but...well. Their dream's been threatened and it's hard to think straight. All he can do is cling to whatever hope Sorey can give him. The brunet's always had a talent for inspiring hope in people, and it holds true now.]

[openhanded]

I volunteered for it, remember?

[He accepts it-- Mikleo's tears, the threat of his own. This is a rough situation and it's better for them both to deal with it than to let it build up. Because now that Mikleo is a seraph, he needs Sorey to be true to himself. Now more than ever. If malevolence builds up in either of them, they could die. There's no one else around to save them.

He runs his fingers through soft pale waves, thinking of ocean crests and aquamarines. He thinks of what Mikleo said a long, long time ago.]

You're not a liability.

[fashioneebo]

You did, but that still doesn't make it fair for you to deal with.

[Not that he expected Sorey to not volunteer for it. The brunet tends to volunteer for a lot of things that aren't exactly good for him. Still, Mikleo appreciates his loyalty and love for him.

Mikleo's breath hitches for a moment at that statement. He swallows hard and clings tighter to his husband.]

...You're sure?

[His voice is small, and it's kind of childish, but he needs that reassurance. The water seraph trusts Sorey to keep his word, but he needs that finality in this moment. It's weird feeling vulnerable and he doesn't like it.]

[openhanded]

A lot of things in life aren't fair. I just like to help people.

[At least he can admit that.

He tightens his hold around Mikleo in return, hoping to make him feel completely safe. Cradling usually does that, and so does having a hand in one's hair. Mikleo did this for Sorey countless times. The least he can do is give it back.]

I'm sure, [Sorey says without hesitation.] You're my equal in every way. I think you surpass me, actually, but that doesn't keep me from trying. We've always been like that-- running side by side, challenging the other. And I know if we fall, we'll catch each other.

That's how it's always been. That's how it'll always be.