Chapter Text
Xephos wakes to a dull metallic thudding coming from the front of his house. He sighs and contemplates ignoring it before he hears a distinct voice filtering through the door and echoing throughout his mind.
“Xephos! I need you now!”
His eyes snap open at the use of his name and he’s running through the large corridors, slamming his hand on the open controls before he can get a complete hold of his emotions. The doors separate with a mechanic hiss and a short figure is revealed before him. The woman fights for her breath as she hurries across the threshold and into the privacy of Xephos’ large house. She’s cradling a small bundle as close to her body as possible and her eyes seem to be glowing a more vibrant red than normal. It was almost impossibly bright. She looks up at Xephos with desperation evident in her eyes.
“They’re separating the city…” she gasps, though she’s sure that the man knows. “One side light, one side dark.”
Xephos nods as he leans on the steel wall. “I am the son of a well-respected general, I already know this. Is there a reason why you’re telling me this again when you knew I’d be asleep?” He forces his voice to be steady and formal. “And sneaking into a high district? Are you an idiot or do you have a death wish?” he says as calm as he would if he was describing the weather on Tenebrae instead. Of course, it would be below him right now to show emotion to somebody of an inferior class.
The woman reaches out and tightly grabs Xephos’ arm with her free arm. “Take her, Xephos! I know you don’t care about what happens to be but surely you care about her?!” she’s desperate as she crowds in closer. “Please, please show some compassion and love for once in your life!”
“Let go of me,” he orders though his voice lacks the viciousness it needed to get the woman to obey him. He looked away from her. “I don’t know what you want but if you don’t start being respectful then I’ll have to kick you out in front of the whole city and let the military deal with you.”
“Take her.” She begs, her nails digging into his skin. “She wouldn’t survive in the darkness…sir,” her voice breaks in fear. “Nobody would.”
There’s a short moment of silence as Xephos turns back to the woman and glares at her.
“I’m a space pilot, not a baby sitter.”
There’s movement in the mess of blankets and Xephos clenches his fist to stop himself from looking at that small bundle in the girl’s arms. He had to stay strong; there was no place for the weak on this planet. Unfortunately for the woman, she was weak and so she and her child had to face the consequences. “It’s been decided by the government…you and her need to move…for the good of Tenebrae and the rest of the population.”
Her eyes are watering and she’s abandoned all pretences of respect. “You don’t believe that, I know you! Sure, you can deal with my blood on your hands -I’m just a lower class idiot who doesn’t know her place to you- but could you deal with your own daughter’s blood on your hands?” She says clearly and boldly, knowing for a fact that this is her last chance for her baby to have a future of light and happiness in a land of pain and darkness. “Take her and love her. Give her everything I can’t…please.” She stares at him as his eyes widen and his mouth hangs open.
At this point, Xephos is frozen in shock. The woman gently passes the mess of blankets to him, making sure he was supporting the small child’s head properly. “Please, for her.”
He’s not emotionless -of course not- so it’s taking a large amount of effort to hold back his own tears. “You sneak into districts banned for your kind…you call me by my family name instead of Sir in a sign of obvious disrespect…and you try to touch me…” he says shakily and takes a deep breath. He makes deep eye contact, something that surprises the other. “If she’s anything like you…she’s going to be something else.”
The woman sobs in relief and bows lowly, hands shaking violently. “Thank you so much.” She says quickly, her voice trembling before she straightens up and kisses the small baby on the forehead quickly. “Be good for daddy, Mira…” she whispers as tears fall, unstopped. “I love you so very much, I hope you will one day know that…that I did this for you…” She breaks down into full on weeping as she looks at her daughter for the last time. With another small bow to show her gratitude, she rushed towards the door.
“Cygnus…” The words are out before Xephos could even think about uttering them. The woman turns around, tear streaks staining her overly pale skin.
“I will love her more than she will think possible, I promise.” Xephos says with such determination that he shocks even himself. People like him don’t take a promise lightly.
Cygnus forces a smile and nods. “I know you will. You’ll be a great dad.”
“And…” The air feels heavier and Xephos isn’t sure how he’s still breathing or even still standing. Cygnus watches Xephos carefully, as if she’s studying every breath he makes and every twitch of a muscle. “And I did care about you, even though I didn’t show it. I’m sorry that I had to treat you like that…like this.”
“I cared about you too.” She lets out a small and probably forced laugh. “It was the way it was supposed to be, classes just aren’t supposed to mix.” She walks towards the door slowly before pausing for the last time. “You know, maybe this could have worked out if things were different, if life was different.”
Xephos returned the bitter-sweet smile. “Yeah, maybe.”
Without another word, she presses her hand against the control panel and runs out into the forever darkness. Xephos is left with just his racing thoughts and a small child that had just started wailing, as if she knew that she would never see one of her parents again.
“It’s okay,” he mutters, rocking her awkwardly as he punches in a code to lock the door. “I will look after to you, you’ll be safe…”
If he’s completely honest with himself he’s terrified and he has absolutely no idea how to look after or raise his daughter he had previously tried to forget. One look at Mira changes everything. She’s stopped crying and is reaching out, wrapping small chubby fingers around his own finger. Pride and determination fill his heart; he’d be damned if he breaks his promise to Cygnus. He was going to do this. He was going to be the best father he could be and absolutely nothing would stop him.