He sputters incoherently as he wakes.
"Ivan, you bastard! The Monitor, the Dream Simula— how are you just going to up and kiss a man with no warni—?! I have to tell Mizi, and Hyuna, and Taiga—! I MEAN SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUUUUCK—?!!!"
". . .Well, someone's awake."
Till snaps his head to his right, only to come within two inches of his life to kissing Luka, who blinks tiredly at him.
No!!! Till can't kiss him! He's probably cursed or some shit! Ya know, alien germs and all that. . .
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Till exclaims, backing away quickly, even as the movement sent shock waves down his legs; he'd fallen asleep on the floor again and his body from the waist down is completely numb.
Ignoring the fact that Till yelled loud enough to implode Luka's right ear drum, the man stands. He yawns as he stretches, his joints popping and cracking with each movement.
He throws Till an unimpressed look over his shoulder, like he can't believe Till had reacted that way to (what Till equated a kiss with Luka to be) a near nuclear explosion and the end of the world.
"Up and at 'em, Till." Luka says finally, boredom evident in his crystal clear register. "I've heard enough mumbling about aliens. Time to tell us everything you know."
[insert scene break]
"Stop shoving, dammit, I can walk just fine on my own!"
Another pointed shove has Till heavily rolling his eyes. "Or not."
Luka keeps two solid hands on his shoulder blades all the way to the round table, at which Till sees Mizi and Hyuna already sitting. His complaints tamper off into mild grumbles as he takes in Hyuna's expression.
She doesn't look mad, per se, but she definitely doesn't look happy, either.
"Till." Hyuna says, tone hard.
Till gulps. He didn't think their relationship would take a swan dive back into the deep end so quickly after their sparring session, but a lot happens while he sleeps, so he guesses he can't be too sure about that.
"What?" He replies, trying to keep his voice anxiety-free. It proves difficult when her eyes are so cold.
"Luka tells us you have some more things to tell us. And Mizi says she recognizes some of it."
Till whips around to nail Luka with the fiercest glare he can conjure. That punk has been watching him as he sleeps?! Creepass bitch.
"Well."
Mizi stands and pulls out the chair next to her for him to sit. "Here, Till. Talk to me."
Till nods, sending one last proverbial dagger straight at Luka's fucking eyes, before taking his seat next to Mizi. His heart beats hard as he faces her. He thought his body would have forgotten, but mind and body are two different things entirely— he may not feel the same way about her now as he used to, but muscles are hard to untrain.
". . ." Till opens and closes his mouth uselessly, the words he wants to say stuck under his tongue, lodged in his voice box.
Where is he supposed to start?
Ivan had mentioned the Monitor, which led Till to remember the Dream Simulator, which then forced him to remember his own experiences within it. . .
He knows Mizi will understand, but how to tell her. . . how to begin speaking about the horrors?
Suddenly a small, warm hand is on the side of his face, forcing his face to lift from the floor. He doesn't remember looking down.
"Till." Mizi murmurs, voice soft and quiet like candlelight atop silk sheets, an understanding smile curving her lips. "It's okay. I know."
YOU ARE READING
back 2 back
Fantasy"My god." Blood. Ice. Thunder. Rain. Black. "My universe." Cold. Lost. Wary. Dead. Sorrow. Ivan is dead. Undoubtedly, irreversibly dead. Till is alive. Unfortunately, irrefutably alive. Ivan cannot escape death. He is dead. Till cannot escape life...
