Serenity

Aches

I finally finished itttt- I'm sorry this took so long to get out, my motivation to write was just GONE xD But regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter! (Also BLACKOUT is currently on pause. Idk when I'll work on it again.)

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|Grace|

"Graceful!" A voice calls to grab my attention through the door as I buried my face into my pillow. Ugh... Fifteen more minutes... "Grace! Are you even awake? It's 8:30 and breakfast has been done for half an hour now! Are you coming??" Azalia's voice carried through the door again and I groan. My body ached from the fighting yesterday and it was heavily shown through my exhaustion right now.

That, and the fact that I had been crying all night out of relief.

A creaking noise prompts me to partially crack open an eye and I see my fellow Elite come over to my bedside and crouch down to my level. "Hey... You doing ok?" They give me a look of concern, before sighing and rubbing my back. Aza is quiet for a bit before they speak up. "I'm guessing yesterday took it out of you."

A small nod was my answer to them as I close my eye. Their back rubbing was really helping with my sore muscles in my back. I... Guess this was my punishment for not training in several days. A sigh escapes their lips before Aza sits on the edge of my bed and continues to rub my back. "I can only imagine. I don't think anyone of us could have predicted Captain Light to come back in that way. Then again... I don't think he had ever left. He was just... unconscious for a very long time." Azalia's voice was soothing to listen to and gave me a sense of peace. I've honestly always enjoyed time around them, because it was nice to listen to them while they chatted. I couldn't even begin to count how many afternoons I let slip away, just to listen to their stories.

"Look, I'll go grab you some food, ok? I'll be back soon." Aza pats my back and gives it a relaxing scratch for a moment before their hand shifts away from my back and I hear them leave my room. The silence of my room fills my mind, accompanying the silent ticking of the passing minutes.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

A hand rests on my shoulder and I realize that the ticking sound was real, and that Lieutenant Time was beside me. His ticking gears filled the room as I shifted to look at him. We were both silent for a couple minutes before he spoke and broke the silence.

"Light wanted to see you, once you were awake and had ate." His voice was soft and gentle as I let out a sigh. The captain was up on his feet? I'd have assumed he'd have been taking some resting time, but I guess work doesn't stop for the captain of the Colorless Guard... Nor his elites. I give a nod to Lieutenant before I shift to sit up. Aching pains filled my arms and legs as I used them for a moment. I think Lieutenant could tell for he shifted his hand to support me.

"Sore?"

"Yeah. A bit. Wasn't really able to do my training the past two weeks."

"Ah, makes sense. I'm also out of shape as well."

With a sigh, I rub my right shoulder to ease some of the tensions in it. A knock echoes in the room before I turn to see Azalia come in through the door with a tray of food. The wafting smell of eggs and milk toast, with scrambled eggs made my stomach growl and Aza laugh. "Yep. There's that hungry beast!" I can't help but crack a smile and snicker. I ended up being once of the quietest elites, but my stomach made up for that in how loudly it grumbled.

Azalia hands me the tray before going and pulling up a chair to sit in. "So... What happens now? Do we just go back to normal life," Azalia asks then glances at the lieutenant. "Well... We have to do a count up for the Steve's who were injured and controlled. Need to identify each one of them before we try and find out ways to get them back into their sane minds and back home." Time replies as I start to dig into my breakfast. Tiredness still hung onto my mind as I ate, but the more I listened in to Azalia and Lieutenant Time's conversation, the more awake I felt. "Actually, thinking over stuff, I was meaning to ask Ivar, but do you know why the Indigo Leader hasn't attended any of the Leader meetings of recent?" Time shakes his head as a chill set into my chest.