Six Crimson Seeds (A VegasPete Persephone AU)

Chapter 35: A Parting Reunion

    For some reason, Pete didn't imagine the place to be so...crowded. Most of the people he could see didn't really look like people anymore, though. They were specters that Pete could mostly see through. There was a constant, low humming that Pete eventually realized was coming from the crowd, as if they were all whispering over one another but Pete couldn't make out what any of them were saying. Distracted, Pete shivered as a woman passed directly through him.

"Are you okay?" Vegas asked, watching Pete carefully.

Pete shivered again. He didn't feel any pain anywhere. He was just startled. "Yeah. It just felt weird."

"I would say you get used to it, but you don't."

Pete squeezed Vegas's hand, stepping closer to him as they continued moving. "Is this why you're always cold when you come back?"

Vegas nodded, doing his best to dodge the dead as they got closer to their destination.

"Is it all like this?" Pete asked, trying not to let his anxiety show in his voice. It didn't work, though. Vegas knew him better than that.

"Mostly. But they tend to stay away from my places."

"Your places?"

Vegas smiled at him then, quickening his pace. Pete did notice the crowd starting to thin after a few more minutes of walking. They saw Elysium long before they reached it, the large building reaching up into the dark sky.

"How?" Pete blurted, stopping for a moment.

Vegas turned back to face him. "I don't really know. But I have something much better."

Breaking into a sprint, Vegas gave up trying to dodge the spirits as he led Pete in a different direction. Pete screamed as the feeling of cold water being poured down his back happened again and again and again.

"Sorry," Vegas said when they stopped. "I just really wanted you to see this."

Pete gasped when they reached his house. Dropping Vegas's hand, Pete ran in, amazed at how much it looked like his home, only monochromatic. There were subtle differences, though, like the missing bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter that Yai always kept full. Other small, random items were missing, as well. Pete hurried to his room, finding more of his things present there than he expected.

Vegas leaned in the doorframe, watching him as he said, "Sorry if it's not quite right. It works off of my memory, somehow. The more familiar I am with a place, the more accurate it is here."

Pete moved around the room, lightly touching the shadow replicas of his things. "I think you got my room pretty accurate."

He looked up at Vegas, whose cheeks had gone a darker gray as he blushed. "I'll let you change your clothes," Vegas said. "I'll just be downstairs whenever you are done."

"Where are we staying?"

Vegas hesitated a moment, scratching the back of his head. "I usually stay in my room. But if you're more comfortable here, you can stay here. I...I have things I need to do while I'm here."

Pete had expected to be able to stay with Vegas the whole time, but he had forgotten that Vegas had responsibilities he needed to take care of. It was the whole reason he was gone for months, after all.

"Can you show me around, first? So I know where everything is if I need to come find you?"

Pete tried to reach out and sense Vegas, but it was like his senses were being smothered. There was so much coldness around him it was hard to pinpoint Vegas's warmth.