Work Text:
Really, Nine should have seen it coming the moment the words ‘Sphinx 3’ came out of Twelve’s mouth. Though there was reason to ignore it (his heart still raced at the thought of the airport calamity they narrowly avoided), he still should have predicted that Twelve would bring it up again and act upon it at a later time.
That being said, Nine laid in the loft bed, unable to properly sleep and found himself eavesdropping on the other two and their conversation.
“What color should your mask be?” Twelve leaned forward on the work stool. “All members of Sphinx are required to protect their identity and you are no exception.” He huffed out his chest and struck a grandiose pose.
“U-umm…I don’t…” Lisa trailed off, still a little in shock from recent events and nervous to do anything else. Nine sighed to himself, wondering how this girl came close enough to be a weakness to the both of them.
Twelve jumped up from the stool and plopped himself right on the couch. Nine could hear a quiet squeak come from the girl, obviously not expecting the other boy’s presence. “Yellow would have been perfect, but that’s mine and I’m pretty attached to that color. Nine’s blue, so that color’s not an option…”
Thinking back, it was kind of funny considering the idea of the masks came from Nine as a necessary way to hide their identities while addressing the public. Then Twelve added in his own little quirk and had already bought the materials to make the masks that they currently wore. “It’d throw them off if we use these masks, you know?”
Right. It had nothing to with Twelve’s sudden interest in a certain children’s show that he recently started to watch. A show that involved lots of forced dialogue and nonsensical explosions. Perhaps that was why he wanted to use it in the first place. Some sort of dark humor at their methods and plans.
“Nine, what do you think? It’d be nice if Sphinx 1 has some say in it, you know?” Twelve’s voice projected up to the loft. Nine rolled his eyes at how nonchalant he was being about this. “This is a very important decision right here.”
Perhaps in due to their long history, Nine could hear the implied statement that Twelve really wanted to say. Make her feel like she’s one of us.
Not the least bit caught off guard by Twelve, Nine sat up from the bed and looked down at them. Twelve’s amused expression was nothing out of the ordinary, though there was a glint of something else in his auburn eyes. Something a lot more solid than the usual forced cheer.
Next to him, Lisa stared back with fear clearly written out on her face. Her sunken eyes and pale face only served to highlight the terror-stricken expression she currently wore. Already nervous from the eccentricity of Twelve, it appeared that Nine’s aloof contempt was more than enough to put her over the edge of her comfort zone. Nine tried not to recoil at that thought and slowly, but surely, made his way down to them.
He hadn’t even sat down yet when Twelve spoke up again. “So, any suggestions?” Twelve reclined in the couch and looked up at the ceiling. “We’re open to anything at this point.”
Nine looked between the two of them, one clearly enjoying this more than he should and the other wanting to leave this conversation behind as quickly as possible. He couldn’t help the thought that for once, this was a situation involving three teenagers trying to get along. There was no ‘terrorists and a citizen’, no Five and the Institution. Nine held back the scoff at how…homely this whole situation was starting to become.
The mediocrity of it all did not escape Nine –
-and the Teacher is screaming both in pain and alarm. “Get them! Someone, go get the guards! Four are trying to escape!
The alarms are ringing, ringing-
Nine hunched over, holding his head in a futile attempt to resist the pain. He squeezed his eyes shut – black and white and gray images flashing in his mind’s eye – and tried to calm himself down. Twelve knew better, knew that as much as he wanted to help, this was something that needed to pass on its own.
Lisa did not have such reserves.
She rose from her seat and stood next to him (an achievement in itself, considering her usually meek character). “Koko-“ there was a pause and he heard her mutter to herself. “I mean, Nine, are you alright?” Lisa rubbed his back in a soothing, but firm circle. Twelve watched the two of them from his seat, eyes never leaving Nine’s shaking form.
The ringing grew louder, engulfing all his senses and it hurts damn it –
He’s climbing and climbing, holding back the cries that threaten to shake his very nerve. Twelve reaches for him, screams a hoarse “let’s go before they can get the guards!”
Small hands finally reach the top. Nine straddles the fence and for a moment, there is only silence and a feeling satisfaction welling from deep within him. From that one position, he can see the green fields beyond the horizon and can taste the alluring sweet taste of freedom.
Then there’s an explosion and it jars him. The beautiful illusion shatters and splinters to reality, one where the Teacheres are starting to gather and mobilize to recapture them.
“Nine!” And it’s not Twelve’s voice, but a girl’s pained yet concerned voice. “Please say something!”
The world warps from the sepia toned past to a world vividly red and there’s a girl with dark mahogany eyes pleading desperately, expressing so many emotions just for him –
And then Nine breathed in air, heavy gulps that slowly broke through the muddled cloud of thoughts. Finally, he registered his surroundings, a scarlet sunset bleeding into the living room and it’s a beautiful sight.
He was also acutely aware of his tightening grip on Lisa’s wrist – thin and bony and soft and warm – and the groans of pain escaping her mouth. Even Twelve, who normally waited for it all to be over, had now stood beside her with a concentrated grimace as he tried to calm the both of them down.
“N-Nine,” Lisa whimpered. “C-can you please…let go?”
Dazed at what was happening, Nine simply let his gaze fall to where he was holding her wrist. The tips of her fingers were red and no doubt, the rest of her hand was too. Belatedly, he realized she had stopped rubbing his back. Perhaps that was the hand she was using to console him…
“Red.”
“E-Eh?” Lisa looked at him strangely, baffled at the sudden response. On the other hand, Twelve perked up with a pleased smile as he took in his comment.
“Red, huh? It would fit our motif well.”
Slowly, calmly, Nine relaxed his grip and let her hand go. His muscles were still tense and ached and now the effects of exhaustion were starting to wear him down as well. Suddenly, the loft bed seemed much too difficult to climb.
…and the couch had a certain allure to it at the moment.
“I-if it’s okay, then red is f-fine.” Lisa gingerly held her hand, trying to soothe the red marks away.
Nine closed his eyes, ignoring the strange wave of embarrassment at this whole predicament. Bad enough that she bore witness to one of his flashbacks. Now he was letting his guard down and showing a rather unguarded expression to a girl who found her way into the lives of two boys who honestly weren’t expecting the best outcome.
“Great! I’ll get it ready!” Twelve started to put some extra clothes on, ready to go gather the materials for the mask. Before Lisa could protest him leaving, Twelve had already waved good-bye and also promised to bring back dinner. While Nine’s stomach protested heavily from the lack of edible food, he had to admit sleep was winning at the moment.
“Umm…Nine?” He glanced over to her, too tired to say anything. “A-are you okay?”
Instead of answering, he collasped on the couch, the furniture firm on his sore body. A nap would be good for him. His body really seemed to need it at the moment.
His mind drifted into unconsciousness before he could remember that she was still in the room, waiting for his answer..
~~~~~
Twelve knew the two of them would be fine. He placed the bags of food on the kitchen counter, making a mental note to start planning out the design later tonight.
Instead, he watched Lisa and Nine sleep beside each other. Nine’s head rested on Lisa’s shoulders and the both of them looked so very peaceful.
Twelve grabbed the blanket from the loft bed and carefully sat next to Lisa, squeezing the girl in between the boys. He threw the blanket over all three of them and quietly snuggled into Lisa. He never remembered feeling this content or blissful before, but Twelve pushed his thoughts aside.
This would be a moment all three of them would enjoy together. At least until someone woke up.