Once Upon a Dream (Golden Guard x Gender-Neutral Reader)

Big Brother Blues

"So they're having you stay home for two weeks?" You questioned as you spun round and round in the chair.
"Yep!" LeLe laid another card down. You watched Twila's tail flicker to and fro. Her tongue was peeping out of her mouth while her eyes narrowed against her options.
LeLe's room was nothing special. All the shelves were at a normal height, his bed was big enough for him, and the door was large enough that he could walk through it. The same could not be said for nearly 90% of the apartment however. Everything was designed for occupants on the shorter side, such as the tabaxi sitting on the opposite end of LeLe's bed.
Twila's nose scrunched and her ears drew back as she lifted a card. She was an undefeated Hexes Hold'em champion, unafraid of risks, knew how to plan ahead, and ruthless when it came to the last blow. In all your time knowing her, you'd never seen her be defeated, and this game wasn't shaping up to be an exception. Her lips drew up to reveal her catty smile.
"Game over, Linnaeus!" She threw down her show stopper, "BANISH!" The card drew up and crawled like a spider over to LeLe's side, creating a vortex that swallowed his deck hole! The boy slapped himself on the forehead.
"How do I keep letting you build up enough points to use that?!" He exclaimed. Twila made herself busy by gathering her deck. Her laughter purred in her throat.
"I don't know, but it's gotten me another helping of dessert!" You tried your best to repress a chuckle. LeLe snapped his head towards you.
"What's so funny?" He asked with a sour expression.
"You bet against Twila in her own event?" You hid your mouth behind your hand. He wasn't really that dumb, was he?
"Maybe I did! You got a problem with that?"
"No, but you're gonna have a problem with it if that's your plan for the next two weeks!"
"That's if I lose! It's only a matter of time before I become a master at this game. Afterall, I'm naturally good at everything!"
"Yeah, naturally good at breaking both your legs."
The room went so silent you could hear a pin drop.
"... Twi, why we let this tiny tot 16 year old hang out with us?" 
You and Twila burst out in an explosive howl. LeLe went on to plead his case despite the fact neither of you could hear him over your absurd cackling. This man really resorted to AGE as a comeback! As if he wasn't the one to prompt this friendship!
It all started when you first joined the Phantoms three years ago. Back then, you were a nervous 13 year old who was wayyyy too antisocial to make friends. Someone waved at you? You'd pretend you didn't see it. Phantoms introduced themselves? You'd stay silent. A team wanted you to join them for training? YOU'D FUCKING RUN AWAY!! Blue and Pepper were 16 at the time and in their second year. They were familiar with cases like yours; the edgy, awkward baby teen. You weren't exactly sure how, but they always managed to wrangle you into their conversations, sit near you in the boneyard, even get you to participate in training activities with them! Before you knew it, you had been adopted by two extroverts, and the number would only double in the following year. They never left you alone after that, and personally? You wouldn't have it any other way. But don't let them know you thought that, or else you'll never live it down.
When the laughter finally died down, a new sound caught everyone's attention. The paper thin walls rattled as the oiless hinges of the front door screeched. A set of footfalls creaked through the apartment.
"Kids! I'm home!" A voice called out. Twila hopped from her seat and dashed out the door. You looked at LeLe, confused.
"Mum promised to bring her back some fabrics she's been wanting." He explained as he maneuvered himself into his wheelchair. You nodded deeply and stepped towards the door.
"Hey! Aren't you gonna push me?"
"Last I checked, your arms weren't broken."
"Remember that when I ram you in the ankles!"
You gave him the bird and walked out of the room. His wheels rolled behind you with a steady sound like stones constantly rubbing against each other. When you entered the living room, you caught sight of two things. One; the giant hole in the floor, which was always the first thing you noticed, and two; Twi and LeLe's parents.
Mrs. Iolanthe Onai had passed a lot of her traits down to her son. They were both tall with deep skin and a sharp jaw. Her thick locs were drawn up and away from her face by a bluish-violet headwrap, the color almost blending with her dark hair. Much like LeLe's, it lightened out at the ends, black fading to a placid shade of lavender. Her smile was kind and full, and even though her eyes were starting to dull with age, they still retained their amethyst hue. Her calm pallet matched her personality. She was always so level-headed, always planning ahead, never not prepared, it really made you wonder how on earth she got with her wife.
The woman's much shorter counterpart leaned against the fridge, shuffling through mail. The ever intimidating Aurelia O'Pauz was a rigid feline, a long haired tortoiseshell to be more precise. Her coat was mainly black with splotches of orange flaring up here and there. With her thick fur, it almost looked like fire poking out of dense smoke. Her tail was equally as fluffy and drumming against the icebox. Her bright paws made way for dastardly claws that punctured whatever it was she was reading. Her harvest moon eyes narrowed into slits. It sent a shiver down your spine to even imagine her looking at you like that!
"Hello ma'ams!" You greeted the women with an obligatory salute. Aurelia glared at you.
"You call that a salute?" In an instant, the tailed taskmistress was beside you, correcting your stature. "The spine must be aligned, arms to the side, together the feet fall, and you stay like that until attention is called."
Aurelia stalked toward the couch, her metal leg clanking against itself. She took a seat and stared off toward the family's cracked, faded, hardly functional crystal ball.
"Back in my day as a Phantom, that would never have flown."
"Honey, you do realize that anyone downstairs could hear you?" Iolanthe hushed. The cat crossed her arms and kicked her feet up onto the couch. "Eh, let 'em! They got enough balls to rat me out, they got enough balls to face the consequences!"
Years ago, much like you, Twila, and LeLe, Aurelia had been one of the Bonesborough Phantoms! Not just any Phantom though, she had set the record for most successful missions and been promoted all the way to Conduit before she left! Why did she leave? Well, that decision was made because of-
"Twila," Iolanthe called. "What do you think of those fabrics I got you?"
Twila popped her head out from behind a sheet of cotton. Her grin spread across her face like butter on toast. "I love them! Where'd you even find these?"
"My employer had them lying around his room, said he didn't need them anymore and they were 'so last season!'" She dragged out the last part in a snooty accent, throwing her palm against her forehead and leaning back as she took a big stride forward. "I figured you could prove him wrong!"
Twila sprang towards the woman, giving her as big of a hug as she could muster.
"Thank you, LaLa!"
"And to think that when I asked you if I could marry her, you said no!" Aurelia's smile was eerily similar to her daughter's whenever-she-knew-she-was-about-to-win grin. Twila spun at her mother.
"And to think out of all the kittens in the litter to get custody over, you got me!" Twi threw back.
"Actually, your father won all of you in the custody battle, you were just the one he didn't want!"
A gasp (along with two DAAAAYUMs from you and LeLe) pierced the air. Immediately, the younger O'Pauz began to verbally attack her mom. It was all in good fun though... at least you thought.
"I'm just kiddin' kitten!" Aurelia's defense came out in an experienced chuckle.
"You better be! Or I'm gonna use this fabric to make your casket clothes!"
"What's this about 'casket clothes?'" A new voice asked. You stepped toward the hole in the floor. You tried to act surprised. In reality, you knew he'd show up, he could never seem to stay away. There, a bouquet of flowers in his prosthetic hand, was Jenner, his regular frown comfortable across his lips.
"Jenny! So glad you could join us!" You called down to his annoyance. The bouquet crumbled against his palm.
"Hold up, Jenny's here?!" LeLe peeped over the edge, the back wheels of his chair desperate to follow him. You had to grab him by his collar to keep him from diving over the edge! Once you had rashly slammed him and his wheelchair back onto the floor, Jenner let out some resounding disappointment.
"Can't you wait until after you're healed to injure yourself again, or do you have some sort of quota to meet?"
"SHUT UP JENNY, I DO WHAT I WANT! Also- are dose fwowers fur me?🥺✨💙"
"... Not anymore. I'm leaving."
"JENNY!!!!"
When Jenner reached the apartment his eyes immediately trained on LeLe. His scowl deepened as he stamped over. He shoved the flowers into the boy's chest, causing the wheel-bound vagabond to let out a small "oof" with a smile and chuckle. He took a few hardy steps away from him afterwards like he was a disease.
"Awww, whatsa matter Jenny? Your ego too fragile to give LeLe some flowers?" You teased with a knowing grin.
"I assume (y/n) told you?" Jenner ignored you completely. You felt your mouth press flat. LeLe raised a brow. "Told me what?"
You could feel Jenner's stare lasering through your skull, but your head was already turned away from his gruesome gaze.
"You had one job." He reminded.
"I know." Your shoulders slumped forward. A pout curved your bottom lip while your eyes stared disappointedly down into the store below. Why can't I ever remember things? Why do I always have to forget the important stuff? Your self-deprecation was cut short by something damn close to a gag erupting from your throat. Jenner was dragging you by your collar!
"Aye! Aye! Aye! I know I messed up but you don't have to choke me to death!" You rasped out, gripping the neckline of your shirt.
"This isn't about your inability to communicate, we're having a talk." You noticed that Jenner was pushing LeLe in front of him. Looks like you had gotten the short end of the deal.
Once the door closed you couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of Twila in the room. Imagine not being invited to attend meetings! Couldn't be me!
"Cas and I had a meeting the other day," FUCK! "And she told me she had a date in mind for our 'seance.' In order to confirm this date though, we need every detail you managed to pick up on your investigation. The three of us will be dropping by later tonight for another chat." Jenner looked at you as he said the last line. Since when was it all three of you?! You had made plans to hang out with the twins! You hoped your glare was flambéing him with annoyance.
"Cas also wanted me to thank you on her behalf while I was here," Blood rushed to the tips of his ears. "Those flowers are from her..."
Jenner's words had come out clunky at the very end. There was an awkward, short, yet noticeable space between each of them. Your eyes narrowed against the bouquet that still sat in LeLe's arms. All of the flowers were varying shades of blue, which made sense as it was LeLe's favorite color. Irises, asters, hydrangeas, forget-me-nots, even a few generous stems of delphiniums had snuck their way into the wrap. What you didn't find though was rhododendrons, red rhododendrons to be precise. Those bad boys were practically Cas's signature and it was pretty damn obvious why! For a bouquet sent by her, it was extremely lacking in them. All the flowers were held together by parchment paper rounded by twine. The packaging was sturdy and did the job, but it was lacking in presentation. It was mediocre, amateur, even. Despite the bouquet's oddities, LeLe seemed to treasure it, hugging it to his chest and giving it a sniff every now and again.
"I'll have to thank her when she comes by-"
"-She said there was no need for thanks."
... Well that sentence came out suspiciously fast. Your mouth twisted into a knowing smile. Oh, Jenny, my dearest bro... so damn angry all the time, so miserable, all because of one misunderstanding. You're just not over him, are you?
You didn't know what conversation you just checked out of, but watching LeLe wheel out of the room while giving you a grave headshake had not made you too hopeful for what was about to happen. Jenner closed the door behind him and sighed. Maybe you could divert the drama?
"Too stressed to keep him, too stubborn to let him go, and too proud to ask for him back. You really got yourself good on this one." As you spoke, Jenner took notice of a picture that had been laid face down on one of LeLe's shelves. You watched him raise the photo and saw his eyes go somewhere else. Leaned so you could see, you spotted what had made him so distant. Frozen in the frame was a younger Jenny with a younger LeLe standing next to him.
The two were probably your age or so. The camera had been angled upwards a bit in the classic selfie stance while it captured what was probably a defining moment in their relationship; LeLe giving Jenny a kiss on the cheek. The boy's shock was immortalized in the paper, his face forever bright pink with confusion, exhilaration, and even more confusion. His pupils were so wide that you almost couldn't see the fiery hue of the ring surrounding them. LeLe's arm was wrapped around his shoulder, careless and loving. That was back when he kept his hair shaved. It was weird to think that you were now the age they were when they started going out. Maybe there was hope for you yet!
"I got myself good?" You didn't like how he said that. He placed the picture back on the shelf and gave you a judging side profile stare over his shoulder. "I got myself good?"
An invisible imp plucked at the strings in your throat. "Jenner, you're kinda freaking me out."
"You should be freaking out! How could you-" He paused. His fingers were tensed and set like stone in a position that made it look like he was trying to get a grasp on your apparent audacity. You watched as he closed his eyes, took a deep breath in through his nose... and out through his mouth. When Jenner opened his eyes again, he seemed much more at ease. He brought his hands down and reached into his jacket.
"After that meeting I was talking about, I spoke with our mole in person." Jenner retrieved a slip of paper and held it between two of his unfeeling fingers. Your eyes narrowed at the presumed message. Why are they meeting in person? You wondered. When you asked, the answer sent worms sprawling around your guts.
"Tighter security. They're monitoring just about everything at the palace. Physical meetings and notes are becoming safer than anything screen to screen." He lifted his hand holding the slip. "He wanted me to give you this."
Of course, you tried to grab it. It was for you, was it not? When you tried to take it though, Jenner moved. You stumbled forward, catching yourself on some crummy desk. You could almost feel the splinters crawling underneath your skin. With an uneasy push, you leaped away from the thing. Jenner was still holding your paper. That concerned dull in his eyes made your body numb.
"When he gave me this, he told me about a certain guard that was obsessing over you, told me to look out for you," He finally handed you the note. "But from the other things he's told me, I've come to assume that this may be a mutual pining."
You looked at your friend. He seemed to hold no malice in his veins, but another emotion was brewing under his surface. You took a deep breath and looked at the paper. You unfolded it cautiously, as if one wrong move would cause it to self-destruct. It sat in your hands, the words making it heavier than it should have been. It took you a few times to actually read it because of the weird squiggly language it was written in, but eventually you were able to decipher it.
To the Little Ghoul,
For your sake, and his, I ask that you stop playing with the Golden Guard. Things are much more serious than you think, and our Little Prince is being watched closely. You can't keep these games between the two of you forever. This is not a threat, it's a warning. Be careful.
Sincerely,
Despite the contents of the message, your brain was caught up on two words.
"Little." "Prince." 
What was that supposed to mean? He was definitely little, but a prince? The articles you read said nothing of him being a prince! Maybe it's just a nickname? You tried to convince yourself. But why "prince?" I know he's the emperor's right hand man, but surely not...
You chewed on your cheek and folded the note into your pocket. While avoiding Jenner's gaze, you noticed how dirty your shoes were. Dust, blood, unexplainable stains, more blood, this is what you get when you're raised on Eda's hand-me-downs. It also didn't help that you got into fights on the reg, but whatevs. Jenner sighed.
"(Y/n), I'm not mad at you, I'm just-"
"Don't say 'disappointed,' PLEASE don't say disappointed." Your eyes drew up beneath your brows to glare at him.
Jenner closed his eyes and pursed his lips. With his singed palm, he wiped the look off of his face and replaced it with a borderline unreadable expression. It was as if the feeling of being awake at midnight and hearing a train in the distance was able to be worn on the face.
"I'm worried about you." Jenner declared. "Most of the time, you're able to tell when a situation's too big for you, but your infatuation with this 'Golden Guard' is clouding your judgment!"
"What evidence do you have that I'm soooo obsessed with him?!" You waved your hands on "so" with a sneer.
"One; apparently you've gone up against him multiple times! Two; you never told me he was involved in any of said encounters! If you wanted to, you could have had him taken care of! Why aren't you trying to get him out of your hair?"
"If you saw this from my point of view, you'd understand why I can't let him go!"
"Explain it to me then! Tell me what's going on!"
"Like that'll change your mind! You're more stubborn than a thorn in my throat!"
"I'm starting to think you have some sort of history with this guy. Whatever that may be, it is no damn excuse to endanger yourself or the rest of the Phantoms! I don't want you to crumble into pieces-"
"-In a jail cell that I've broken out of a million times before?" 
"In the emperor's stone garden." His words were like a swift kick to the gut. It reminded you of what Eda had said the night you met Blondie. Did they truly think that you were destined for that fate?
"If you wanna go prancing around with some big shot coven scout, be my guest! But the moment somebody finds out how deep this really goes, the two of you are done with your stupid games! Not because I'm the one stopping it, but because someone'll probably be fucking dead!"
Jenner left you alone in the room. You were surprised that the door didn't break from how hard he slammed it. The two of you had had your fair share of spats, but none of them had ever seemed this serious. Was it true? Would this whole ordeal end in ruins or was he just blowing shit way out of proportion? You tried to flatten your hair back down onto your head and whip the tears from your eyes, but every time you'd just be reminded of why they were there, and the feelings would start up again. Upon not being able to cull your emotions, you decided to save yourself the embarrassment (and the inevitable "are you okay?" or "what happened" that would only fuel your dismay) by crawling out of the window and into the darkening city streets.
⧖⧖⧖
You didn't talk to Jenner and Jenner didn't talk to you. When your two paths met, you walked on opposite sides of the street. When the Poltergeist was leading the way to Blue's place you and Conduit Smelt put an abnormal amount of distance between yourselves. When Blue was giving you the rundown, the two of you stood as far away from each other as possible. You tried not to focus on him, instead giving your attention to Blue as he preached his perils. It was difficult, especially with a dull headache starting to build, but eventually you managed to drown out the distraction and actually get a good listen on the scoop.
According to Blue, the new warden was one Tyler Cutebiker. He was quite a familiar foe to the Phantoms, his name being synonymous to most profanity in the lair downstairs. Cutebiker, in his brief time there, had fired most of the guards, replaced them, switched up the entire patrol schedule, moved prisoners from cell block C to B, then over to A, then finally to T, and made the genius decision of grouping prisoners together via their crimes.
"So this dumbass decided to put a whole buncha Phantoms together and he was surprised to find that they were this close to escaping? He's lucky that those dumb shits laugh at absolutely anything, otherwise all their secrets would stay secret!" Poltergeist Rhodie's voice was low and garbled by her mask, yet her amusement seeped through all the same. She was pouring over the map that Blue had stolen for her.
It was true. Most Phantoms did have the absolute shittiest sense of humor. One time, Kyle dropped some fucking pastry or something, and four Phantoms laughed at the sound it made alone. Sure, you were one of those Phantoms, but god damn was it hilarious to just hear the -fwamp- of a croissant hitting the ground in the midst of conversation.
"That's not all! Do guys remember when we scored... the thing?" Blue had to look around and lower his voice to a whisper before he said that last word.
"Be more specific, Bluey. We've scored a lot of things." You raised.
"I know that, but I'm talking about the big thing! The most coveted thing!" Your eyes widened. Was he talking about that thing? The one from the chateau on the knee? The haul that nearly got you guys busted?! Poltergeist Rhodie took a step forward. "What about it?"
Blue took a deep breath in through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, the air coming out choppy as it molded to fit his growing smile. He shook his head with fiendish glee.
"They never returned it."
Everything stopped. The flickering candle flame stood in place, the distant hounds ceased their barking, the wind stopped groaning and rocking the building, even the sounds of your breath and blood stanched to soak in this information.
Last year, back before you were even Specter, the gang had set off on their most daring venture yet. Cas had been Conduit at the time and was assigned to lead a small team up to the knee to retrieve a mythical set of armor. Legend has it, if someone was to put it on they'd become a one-man army. The relic was shrouded in mystery. Nobody was sure if it was even real, let alone how old it was or how it was made! According to historian Flora Desplora, there were texts from as early as the Rotting Ages that indicated this thing's existence!
Of course, the Emperor had prohibited anyone from searching for it. And of course, the same day he decreed that, he had something privately shipped to his suite near St. Epiderm. It was enough to trigger the suspicion of several spies and whistleblowers who were willing to sell this secret for the right price. Old man Belos was worried about something, and everyone who knew knew what he was worried about. If the Phantoms had it they could dismantle the whole empire! Though it was more about making sure the Emperor's Coven didn't have it, rather than using it for yourselves. The Poltergeist had made that very clear.
When the thing turned out to be real, you could hardly believe your eyes! It looked so simple. It was just leather armor floating in a ray of light. At first, you thought it must have been a sham, but when Cas handed you the box they were in and told you to run, you were nearly swept off your feet by the sheer amount of power radiating from the thing. It was an ancient energy, an experience older than the ground you tread on. There were emotions sewn into the material. It was like the feeling you got when you touched the Titan's skull for the first time. You seemed to run faster just by holding it! The lot of you managed to get back to Bonesborough with the artifact. You could see the dim lights from your side of town waving to you from below. For a moment everything seemed like it was going to plan! Then the next thing you knew, you were falling through the air, vision white, and ears ringing.
The next thing you could remember was waking up in the Grave, ancient relic gone, and Eda leaning over you with feathers blooming from her body. It was one of the only times you'd ever seen Eda cry and you hadn't seen her do it since.
The world went back in motion and the room exploded into a scratchy match of whisper-shouting between all parties involved. IT WAS STILL HERE?! THEY NEVER RETURNED IT?! HOW? WHY? You repeatedly combed your hair out of your face and tried to gather your breath. One of the gang's enemies had a superweapon that could wipe out your entire operation.... On the bright side though, you guys were probably definitely gonna steal it back during the prison raid!
You were about to send Smelt a devious deal of finger tapping, along with a conniving chuckle, however your routine of evil plotting was sabotaged by the argument. You were already prepped to do it too, had your fingertips together in that little villain pose, facing him and everything! Unfortunately, he knew you too well and was looking at you, waiting. Were you going to extend your olive branch of "let's plan a crime together?" FUCK NO! THAT BITCH KNOWS WHAT HE DID! EDA DID NOT RAISE A BITCH WHO BLINKED FIRST! Instead, you practically broke your neck turning away from him and crossed your arms.
"We need to reclaim it." You redirected yourself towards the Poltergeist. Her second hand took a step forward.
"I agree, it's too dangerous in the hands of... Cutebiker." You nearly gagged at the mention of his name, yet simultaneously it filled you with so much passion that you thought you were going to burst! You could hardly contain your enthusiasm. "Oh I'd love to take that man down a peg! Let's do it!"
"Yeah!" Blue wheeled towards you. "Let's show that man how us Phantoms do!"
"Slow ya damn role guys." Poltergeist Rhodie commanded. You and Blue stopped mid-fist bump to listen to her.
"This adds a whole new element to the operation. We'll need to think this through and plan accordingly, because despite what you may think, this is our only chance. We break into that prison and fail to escape, there won't be anyone left to rescue us. We've gotta do it right or not at all, so quit counting your griffons before they hatch and focus on how you're gonna get the eggs first."
You straightened back up, lacing your fingers together and fiddling with the fabric on your gloves. Blue was just sort of awkwardly wheeling forward and backwards.
"I love you guys' enthusiasm, but save it for the day. We'll need it more than ever." You made eye contact with Blue. You hoped he could feel that you were smiling back. He looked back at the Poltergeist.
"Can I offer you any more assistance, your ghostliness?" He joked.
"If everything goes according to plan, that won't be necessary. Thank you, Phantom Blue, for your contribution to the cause, but it's time that we return to our final resting place." She responded back, buttoning her long coat in the middle. With a stalk over to the window, she pushed the ill-fitted pane away from its space. The Conduit fell behind her, and then you. Usually you'd "accidentally" bump into him and make him stumble forward, but tonight was no night for those childish games.
"See ya, Sapphire!" Poltergeist Rhodie hopped out of the window with the utmost grace. She made no noise after that, almost as if she had vanished into thin air.
"Later Lapis." Conduit Smelt followed, opting to get a running start and glide out of the window hands first. After he had gone, you sat down on the sill, facing your friend.
"I think what Smelty meant to say was 'bye bye baby bluuO!'" You had just finished your quirky little quip when you were pulled back by your jacket. Your hand went up to where your nose usually was as if you were a diver preparing to sink into the sea.
When the three of you arrived back at the Grave, you conversed in the Coffin; And by "conversed," I mean you talked to Cas, Jenner talked to Cas, and Cas talked to both of you. Between your worsening headache and emotional constipation, you couldn't scrabble up enough feelings to apologize. Apparently, neither could Jenner. The two of you had only scrounged out enough emotions to feel disconnected. Even in your disconnect though, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that Cas shouldn't find out.
"We'll send the Spirits in first to take out the outer guards and the main guard station. From there, they should be able to use their ID badges to give us access to the entire conformitorium. After that, our main team will split in two; Banshees and Wraiths. Wraiths will work on freeing the Phantoms while Banshees make their way up to the contraband room. Once we've freed our guys and bagged our shit, we'll regroup here on the map. Then we haul ass outta there. Any questions?"
You raised your hand.
"You don't have to raise your hand, (y/n)."
You lowered your hand.
"... Well, do you have a question?"
"Oh yeah. How exactly are we supposed to sneak into the conformitorium without being spotted by the guards inside?" You asked with the tilt of your head. She grinned.
"Kyle rummaged up some more uniforms for us to use."
"How did he-"
"He doesn't wanna talk about it."
"Fair enough, continue."
"We can have them duplicated and sized for the ghosts, we just need someone who's willing to do that."
"Oo, Pepper! She's great at clothes."
"'Great at clothes?'"
"Shut up, Jenner! You know what I mean!"
Cas slid her mask back onto her face. As soon as it went on, it was like her entire demeanor changed. Her stature commanded respect, as it tower over most others, the strong presence she emanated was undeniably eye-grabbing, and the empty sockets of her mask could see through anything. Without a doubt, Poltergeist Rhodie was a force to be reckoned with.
"Well," She grabbed her overcoat and popped her arms through the sleeves. "I say we ask her about it tomorrow and get to work on explaining the ordeal to the rest of the gang. We'll meet back here at midnight. Until then, I'm gonna go get some shut eye. I suggest you guys do the same."
The two of you followed her as you walked. A few Phantoms waved at you guys as they began to settle down for the night. One of them was sprawled on a couch, reading some book called Ruler's Reach. Huh, never heard of that one before, must be new.
Once you exited the Grave, Cas gave you two a quick salute and disappeared into the Resting Rhododendron. That just left you and Jenner. Alone. In the silence. You took a restive step forward, trying to outrun the tension. He followed. For a good while, the two of you said nothing. Even the midnight noises didn't dare to break through the streets.
As you walked, you took notice of one starry feeling pounding behind your eyes. It was like something echoing off the walls of your mind, begging to be released. It begged and wailed and moaned, yet it found no exit. So what did it do? It just kept slamming into your eyes over and over and over. Jenner seemed to take no notice of your mounting discomfort, in fact he made it worse as soon as he started speaking.
"So are we gonna talk about it?" His eyes stayed loyal to the street as he spoke.
"What's there to talk about?" The figmented fiend rammed again. "You don't want me around him, and I do. Simple as that."
"So you do want to be around him?"
You pinched at the space between your eyes and sighed. Part of your thumb brushed against the incline in your nose's bridge, the first gift that Blondie ever gave you.
Gift.
Flower.
Baby's Breath pressed in his palm.
You remembered how the Golden Guard's ears had been bright pink when you turned around. When he asked you if you were flirting with him it made you believe that he was starting to understand your humor; that is if flirting can be considered a sense of humor. The twins were the ones that had gotten you aboard that playful banter train. Blondie would probably flip his lid if he knew how reversed the roles were when you were around them. You were going to flip your lid if this thing didn't stop whirling around your brain like some depressed typhoon. You stopped in your tracks, refusing to look up.
"You know that no situation is ever as simple as it seems. I'm not staying invested in him because he's a big shot, or because has resources that I can abuse, it's because he's... he's him... and not anyone else. The truth is, this entire situation with the Golden Guard is way more personal than I've been willing to admit. It didn't just up and sprout immediately, it's been years, almost my entire life in the making! I'll be honest Jenny, there's a lot of stuff I haven't told you. There's a lot of stuff that you don't really need to know. What you do need to know is this;"
You could feel tears beading out of your eyes, not from emotion, but rather that little ball of woe in your cranium finally managing to escape its tormented prison. You caught some on your hand. In your many years of crying your fucking eyes out, you had observed that tears were usually (surprise surprise!) clear. The tears that had fallen on your glove were abnormal in this respect, as instead of being clear, they were a glowing gold. The drops rolled around your hand, illuminating different lines across your palms. When two or more of them grouped together, they would slowly start drifting off your hand and into the sky, never to be seen again. In a way you almost envied them. They got to join the ever adored stories of the night. Gravity's grip on you had weakened, if only slightly. You looked back to the man who you called brother. Your fingers closed around the remaining dew.
"I can't stop when I'm so close to figuring it out." What were you figuring out? You weren't too sure anymore. Before it was if that boy and Dreamboy were the same boy, but that question seemed to have answered itself. The question was no longer about who, instead maybe it was about why. The how was obviously magic, but why had it decided to bring the two of you together? That was the next item on the chopping block. Why?
Jenner had his arms crossed and was doing his dumb thing where he let a dramatic breeze to flow through the mullet he's had since he started his transition. At first it was cool, but after the sixth lecture/monologue, it became a mark of "you messed up and now I gotta teach you a lesson."
"(Y/n), I'm not gonna tell anyone about this... thing you have going on with the Golden Guard." His words made your face flush.
"When you say it like that it makes it sound like we're an actual thing thing." You muttered.
"Is that something I should worry about?" His voice was so deathly serious it made you nervous.
"No! Not at all! That would be absurd!"
Did he know about the flirting? Dear Titan, you hoped he didn't know about the flirting! You'd be in massive trouble if that ever came to light. "You flirt with enemy?! You flirt with enemy like the lover??!! Oh, jail for (y/n)! Jail for 1000 years!" That's probably what Jenner would say.
"... Anyways, I think we both know that this will get out eventually," You looked back down at your feet, sweating that you'd do everything in your power to make sure it didn't. "But when it does, I'll have your back."
You met Jenner's eyes again. He wasn't smiling or anything along those lines, as per usual. For a second, you thought he didn't really mean it, but then you saw it. The corner of his lip was trembling, going up briefly then being slammed back down. You sighed with relief.
Jenner was still your brother.
Things would definitely still be rocky between the two of you concerning Blondie, but at least you'd be able to talk to Jenny again. Be goofy without risking pride. Make your dumb inside jokes again. Remind him of his failed attempts at romance. The dream was alive again!
You reached into your pocket, revealing one Morty boi. A gentle toss later and you were prepared for take off. You saddled up, ready to kick off, when you took a deep breath. You turned back to Jenner, reaching out your hand. He looked at your hand, then back up at you.
"I'm not getting too-slowed tonight, (y/n)."
"DAMMIT! Well then, ciao Jennyyyy!"
"'Ciao?'"
You went ghost before taking to the skies. Nobody, except the Emperor's Coven, would dare to mess with a Phantom in the pitch dark. Maybe that's exactly what you wanted... of course, you'd have to get out of Jenner's sight first, or else he'd send his concerned Jenny vibes your way. You reclined on your back, trusting Mortis to guide you home. The stars reminded you of a container someone had poked holes in so that whatever was inside could breathe, that thing being you and every other living creature in the demon realm. A certain section of holes caught your eye.
Orion. A popular myth on the Boiling Isles and in the human realm. For some reason, it was always him. Always had been. You had no real explanation as to why he was your favorite, he just was. That constellation was the first tattoo you had gotten on your own. You could feel the inky dots on your back coming to life as a familiar feeling rushed through your spine.
Chilled to the bone.