A Book of One-Shots

Managing

Wrote this for tumblr, everyone was suddenly obsessed with Xephos, Blind!Xephos, to be exact. So uh.. yeah.

Pairing(s): None

Summary: A “happier” Blind!Xephos fic, where things aren’t so feely. Hopefully.

Warnings: None

Notes: I have never done this before what am I doing oh God please don’t kill me.

“Xeph, Xeph!”

Someone was shaking him. The spaceman rolled over, smacking away the hand that had been shaking his shoulder. He hadn’t slept well the night before.

“Come on, Xeph, we’ve gotta get to work!”

Xephos sighed in frustration, flung the covers off, and opened his eyes.

Opened his eyes.

He blinked.

Opened. His. Eyes.

No matter how hard he willed the darkness away, it remained. Panic quickly flared in his chest, and he swallowed hard. Surely, Honeydew is playing a joke. Yes. He has all the lights out and it’s still dark outside. That’s why he’s tired, right? It’s a midnight prank. Of course.

“Xephos?”

“Turn the lights on, will you?” He grumbled, not liking the pitch black.

There was too long of a silence.

“Xeph, the lights are on.,” The dwarf’s voice wavered. “It’s almost noon as well,”

“No…” His voice was soft. He felt tears. He felt Honeydew wrap his arms around him. He heard his own sobs.

But he saw nothing.

~

That had been a while back.

There was no getting used to being blind, and he told that to himself every morning. Yet somehow, he carried on. He managed to get out of bed now without tripping on anything immediately. He could navigate most of the floors of the factory without bumping into anything (at least - not too hard), but the flying ring gave him trouble. Sometimes the others would forget and ask him to look for something before realizing what they had just asked. Then there were the mornings where he would lay in bed for a few moments, not wanting to open his eyes and still be in darkness.

Many expected him to fall. To give up and lay down to die because his world was black. He decided to prove them wrong. He, Xephos, would not give up. Not for anything. So he managed. Where sight failed him, he let every other sense fill the gap. Sure, he may have forgotten what color that lamp was, but did you know how smooth it was? He never realized how comfortingly warm they were, either, and that they gave off this little hum you could just barely pick up. Books were pointless, except for the feel of tough leather between his fingers, and the rustling of the pages being turned. Each piece of food he ate was an explosion in his mouth. What did red look like again? That didn’t matter. Listen to the crunch of the apple and feel the juices run down your fingers. He had never realized how strong Honeydew’s accent was. Lalna cracked his knuckles whenever he was trying to explain something. Lomadia’s hands were smooth and warm against his rough cold ones. Her hair was silky and smelled of roses, no matter what color it was.

Xephos and the others still sat on their hill at sunset, but while they enjoyed the colors melting together on the horizon, he focused on the other things. Grass slightly wet. The leaves whispering in the wind. The final bird calls before night. The waves against the shore just to the left of them. Something about it was magical, like in taking away something he had deemed so important had opened a door to a grand new world no one had ever experienced.