(Book One of the ❝Stories and Legends of the Apex Predators❞ Series)
Mirage, the self-proclaimed jokester of the legends, has some serious thinking to do. After a love confession from Wraith ends with heartbreak on her end, Mirage begins to question...
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Crypto looked down at Mirage with rare concern in his eyes. He looked at where Wraith had run off to then returned his gaze back to Mirage.
"I'm so bad with women, I don't understand it," Mirage complained. "I've always been desperate for a girlfriend and the one time a woman is finally interested in me, I feel... nothing. Do... Do you think I'm crazy, Hyeon?"
"You're just weird," Crypto scoffed. "Do you even like women?"
"Do I what? Hyeon, do you think I'm..." Mirage's face flushed and looked around before leaning in close and whispering the final part of what he was saying. "Do you think I'm gay?"
Crypto shrugged. "Just a thought. Not that there's anything wrong with it--geu-nyang gung-geum-hae-seo."
"Well, are you?"
"I'm not the type to label and put myself into a box." With that comment, Crypto put on his headphones and left the room, leaving Mirage a lot to think about.
If Mirage did like men the same way he liked women, he already knew he wouldn't be the only one; he could name many of his fellow legends who were like that. No, what surprised him was that Crypto, too, was under that category.
Wanting to avoid the inevitable stares, Mirage went to his living quarters. This wasn't the first time he's questioned his sexuality and with the way things were going, he was sure it wouldn't be the last. Hell, Rampart was constantly teasing him about it, so then why did this all feel so... weird?
ψ
Meanwhile, Crypto entered a workshop where Horizon and Wattson liked to spend their time doing science work, the latter of which more interested in the engineering side of things.
When he stepped in, Horizon looked up and smiled. "Oh, hello dearie. Here to fix up your drone again?"
"Annyeong, Mary," Crypto greeted with a bit of rush in his voice, "but I'm here to talk to Natalie, actually."
Horizon shrugged and went back to her work still with her grin as he approached Wattson. She perked up inquisitively.
"It's Renee," Crypto explained.
Suddenly, Wattson grew worried. "Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?" When she saw his eyes land on Horizon, she brushed it off. "She's too focused on her work to hear us. Don't worry. Besides, I do not think she's the type to go and spread rumors."
"Alright, if you trust her, I do too." He returned his eye contact to Wattson. "Renee confessed to Eliott and... neither of them took it well."
"Oh non..." Wattson sighed in disappointment. "Where is she now?"
"I saw her rush out of the ship. I did not think it was my place to go after her."
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll try to find her, we are scheduled to be on Olympus for tomorrow's game." She hugged Crypto before rushing out of the room.
With Horizon being focused on her work, Crypto took a few tools before also leaving and headed to his sleeping chambers. But it was not to rest.
He threw his drone on his desk and sat down, beginning to work on it. Normally, he'd just fix it up in the workshop, but because he didn't have Natalie to talk to, he'd rather be alone with his thoughts than have Horizon in the background of his mental breakdown.
Ask he replaced the wings and camera in his drone, thoughts kept coming to his head. Usually, it was his guilt that plagued his mind but tonight was different. Tonight, his thoughts were clouded with Mirage.
"Mwoya ssibal," Crypto mumbled to himself. "The attention always has to be on him, right? Even in my mind? Figures..."
He shook his head and went back to work, only to stop once more as he threw down his tools back on the surface of the desk. He laid back in his chair with a huff as he turned side to side. His mind was rushing 1,000 miles per hour yet he was thinking about nothing.
Anxiety... It was what kept Crypto awake all night, just eating him away from the inside.
"Why is it so bad tonight?" Was it guilt? Did he regret warning Mirage about Wraith's love confession?
"Why did I say anything in the first place?" After all, it wasn't his business. He just inserted himself in a situation he had no reason to be in.
As he over-analyzed the situation, suddenly Crypto's eyes went wide. He hunched over his seat, his breaths getting faster and faster and his pupils darting in every direction.
"Aniyo. Aniyo! That can't be it!"
He slammed his fist on his desk before standing up. He was just confused is all. Yeah... After all, Crypto was still learning to be a good friend. He wasn't used to having so many, let alone anyone like Mirage.
"I... need to rest."
Maybe the paranoia was just messing with Crypto's head. He crawled onto his cot, the cold air from the window behind his head blowing into his room. Though it wasn't exactly a yo mattress like he was used to, it was comfortable and did the job.
Well, maybe not tonight, but that was to blame on his ever-accelerating heart rate and red face than anything he was trying to sleep on.
