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So, depression, huh?
There are a lot of life changes Lyfrassir should be making, including but not limited to getting back in contact with their brother, quitting their job, and finding a hobby that wasn't “work obsessively on cases until their brain turns to jelly and they have to take several days off to recuperate.” Which, looking back on it, wasn't even a hobby because it was related to their job, so.
Fuck.
Lyfrassir is currently on the take several days off to recuperate swing of the pendulum. They lay on the floor in a pile of defunct paperwork, tracing their eyes over cracks in the ceiling. Lyfrassir hasn't eaten in about a day now, and they haven't moved in just as long. There's an uncomfortable knot in their back from sleeping on the floor. Everything felt so bad right now that earlier they considered chopping their hair short, but they weren't that desperate. They really need to consider things more on that front before making any decisions, especially because…
They reach back and tangle their fingers in the hair at the base of their head. Lyfrassir hasn't talked to the Mechanisms in a while now. Not out of choice. After the “date night”, they found that they were asked to go to the prison block less. It was probably out of an effort to protect them or whatever, but they were still bitter about it. Nothing had happened, as far as the station knew. Though maybe they shouldn't have gotten so attached to space criminals in the first place.
Lyfrassir drops their hand, sighing. No point in getting upset now. They already have enough problems trying to convince themself just to sit up. They wonder which basic task would be the most important to try and get done if they manage it. A shower might make them feel better, but if it didn't then Lyfrassir was going to have a Hel of a time forcing themself to go to the kitchen and make something to eat.
Something creaks to their left. Lyfrassir turns their head and sees Raphaella la Cognizi and Marius von Raum standing in the doorway. They realize how absolutely embarrassed they are to be found like this, sprawled on the floor in an ocean of paper like a bureaucratic murder victim, but luckily they're so tired they don't think it registers on their face.
“Hello,” they greet. “What are you doing here?”
“We haven't seen you in a long time so we broke out to check on you,” Raphaella explains. “Just in case.”
“Oh. That's nice of you.”
“Are you quite alright, Inspector?” Marius asks.
Lyfrassir squints. “Um, no? I don't think I am?”
Marius crosses the room and sits cross legged on the floor next to them, close enough that Lyfrassir could easily touch him if they tried but far enough that they didn't have to. “We were planning on going on a real bender with you tonight, but if you want to stay in and talk about feelings we can do that too.”
The resulting guilt hits Lyfrassir hard, so they try to advance the conversation. “Where's Ivy?”
“She-”
The question is answered for him as Ivy barrels past Raphaella. “Guys, they have a bookshelf and it's an atrocity.” She seems to spot Lyfrassir. “Oh, hello.”
“You don't need to be mean to my poor bookshelf like that,” Lyfrassir says.
“What's wrong with it?” Raphaella asks.
“I don't think we really need to talk about it.”
Unfortunately, Ivy was already on a roll. “They're stacked on top of each other. Like on the ones that are already shelved, and they've got so many knick knacks in front of them. You have to pull books out of there in order to read them, Lyfrassir, it's so messy.”
They laugh for the first time since… Well, their date night. Combined with the stiff ache in their bones and their dry throat, they have to curl up on their side to protect themself from the pain it causes. They hear Marius making concerned noises.
“I'm okay,” Lyfrassir assures him. “Just sore is all.”
“How long have you been on the floor?” He asks.
“I don't know. Over twenty four hours, at least.”
Marius whistles. “We need to get you some self care.” He stands up and holds out a hand to them. “Up you go.”
Lyfrassir grasps it and just kind of allows Marius to haul them up to their feet. Thankfully he stands still and lets them hold onto him as they struggle to overcome the intense head rush they've gotten. It's his mechanical hand, so it probably doesn't hurt any, but they still feel bad about it.
“I'm… Going to go take a shower,” they force out. “I give you free reign of my apartment, except my bedroom.”
“I can join you to make sure you don't faint, if you'd like!” Raphaella offers.
Lyfrassir feels their face grow hot, and it's a nice reminder their heart is still functioning. “No, I don't think that's necessary. Thanks, though.”
They stumble down the hallway to the bathroom. All things considered, they don’t trip and crack their head on the counter, so it’s a pretty successful trip. Lyfrassir keeps the shower short, it feels awkward to do something like that while there’s guests. Well, technically the Mechs aren’t guests since they invited themselves in, but Lyfrassir still cares about their opinions since they are… dating them? Are they dating? Hm. Lyfrassir should really ask, they don’t need middle school drama piled up on top of their regular drama.
After the shower, they grab a bandana and wrap it around their head. Okay, maybe they’re being a bit too repressed about all of this, but they were trying really hard to get this right. For one brief moment they consider reusing yesterday’s clothes, but they realize that if they do that the Mechs will just make them change anyway. So, they throw on a button up and a skirt, forego the shoes, and drift to the kitchen.
“You’re back!” Marius chirps. Lyfrassir warily eyes the charred pan in his hand. “Don’t look at me like that. Ivy is better at cooking than me, and that’s only because she cheats.”
“Having a stored memory bank of recipes is not cheating, Marius.” Ivy doesn’t even look at him when she says this. She does, however, give Lyfrassir a plate of scrambled eggs. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” they mumble. They go to the table and sit down, poking at the eggs with the fork supplied to them.
“The hair thing is cute,” Marius says.
Don’t think about that too much, don’t think about that too much. “Thanks.” Lyfrassir winces when Marius deflates a little bit. “I mean, really, I appreciate it a lot, I just… can’t show it very well right now.”
“That’s alright,” Raphaella chimes in. “We all have our off days.”
“Except for me,” Ivy says.
“You once barricaded yourself in the library to avoid talking about your feelings.”
“That was Past Ivy. I can't be held accountable for her actions.”
“That's how time works, though.”
“Oh, okay, so now we live on a linear plane?”
Lyfrassir watches them bicker a little more about chronology as they pick away at their eggs. They can't claim to understand much more than a word or two, but it's comforting to be able to watch the Mechs argue over something so mundane. Well, perhaps not mundane, but it wasn't laden with illegal activities so it passed the bar.
Eventually, though, the lack of sleep starts to weigh down on them. Things go a little bit fuzzy at the edges as Lyfrassir can't quite manage to look at them for very long. Once the Mechs conclude their argument, they stand and put their plate in the sink.
“I think I should go to bed,” Lyfrassir sighs.
“Can we go with you?” Marius asks. He seems to realize what he said not even a second later. “I mean, um‒”
“No, it’s okay.” They smile. “I think I’d like that, actually.”
Lyfrassir’s bed isn’t all that big, considering they live on their own anyways, but they make it work. Raphaella’s wings cause some complications, but once they figure out how to get them wrapped around without causing her any discomfort it’s kind of nice. Lyfrassir falls asleep sandwiched between Ivy and Marius, and it’s the best sleep they’ve gotten in months.
The way Lyfrassir is awoken isn’t the most romantic method. Something prods at their face, and they groggily try to swat it away, but it incessantly pokes at them until they open their eyes. Raphaella is less than ten inches from them, and she breaks out into a smile when they meet her gaze.
“There we are! Thought you were in a coma for a second there.” She helps them sit up. “We’re going out for a little night on the town.”
“Uh, okay, I hope you all have fun.”
“You misunderstand, you’re going with us!”
That wakes them up a little bit more. “Oh, I, um, I think I’m good, thank you.”
“Nope! No arguing! You need to get some fresh, New Midgardian air.”
She lifts them from the bed bridal style, and they try to file away the ’oh that’s kind of hot that she can do that’ thoughts away to the back of their head. There's a joke here to be made, they think, but they cannot for the life of them think of it.
“Coming in with a damsel in distress, are we?” Marius says teasingly when she walks into the kitchen.
“I'd say they're not a morning person, but it is rather late in the night.” Raphaella smiles at them. “Another reason you're coming; we have to get that sleeping schedule of yours back on track.”
She gently sets them back on the floor, and Lyfrassir kind of wishes she'd hold them again. They don't ask, though, that would be weird. Instead they go to lean against the counter in a huff, arms crossed.
“I really don't want to go out,” Lyfrassir mutters.
“You really need to, though,” Ivy says from the table. “There's an 81% chance that getting out of the house will make you feel better. And after laying on the floor for so long, you need to move around.”
“Pluuuuus,” Marius cuts in. “Raph can literally fly you right home if things go south! No need to worry about depressive episodes when you have your own personal bird lady!”
Raphaella rolls her eyes at that, even while she's smiling. “My services are not nearly appreciated enough.”
“Aw, I'll try to make it up to you.” He leans over to give her a quick kiss, and Lyfrassir averts their eyes. It feels intrusive, somehow.
“So what would you like to do?” Ivy’s question draws their attention back to her.
They look down at their feet, as if that will give them the answers on how to get out of this. No such luck. “Something simple, okay? I'm barely ready to reintegrate into society.”
“Of course. We'll save the bank heist for another night.”
Gods, Lyfrassir could only hope she was joking.
“I did not expect for this to be the place where you took me,” Lyfrassir admits as they look around the botanical gardens.
“You said simple!” Marius says. “Botanical gardens seem like a slow enough pace.”
“Breaking in was also fun, albeit super easy.” Raphaella says. She crouches down and leans close to one of the clusters of red flowers. “I wonder how much of this is poisonous to us.”
Lyfrassir shrugs. “I don’t think any of it is all that poisonous…”
“We’ll, we’re not from the same planet. We have subtle biological differences.” She raises her eyebrows almost suggestively, and Lyfrassir scoffs and rolls their eyes.
“I know you’re not coming onto me, Miss la Cognizi.”
“You never know.”
Ivy looks up at one of the trees. “It’s not very cultivated, is it?”
“What do you mean?” Lyfrassir asks.
“Most other botanical gardens are a little bit more focused on presentation. This one looks nice, but it looks like there wasn’t much care put into landscaping.”
“That’s because it’s more of a conservation effort.” Lyfrassir blinks as Ivy suddenly grabs their shoulders. “Um. Do you need something?”
“Tell me about it.”
She looks surprisingly serious about it. Lyfrassir didn’t know she had so much interest in ecological conservation. They shrug a bit. “Uh, a lot of the fighting when Odin touched down on the planet destroyed a lot of the native plant life, on top of stripping areas to set up her own buildings and farms with Asgardian plants to feed the military. Most regions will have a garden like this one to teach people about native plant life.”
“So these are all endemic to the planet?”
“Should be, yes.”
Ivy nods, and then joins Raphaella in studying some of the flowers. Lyfrassir stuffs their hands into the pockets of their jacket as Marius walks over.
“Do you have a favorite?” He asks.
“Favorite what? Plant?”
“Yes, plant. There isn’t much else here.”
They snort. “I think you have mistaken how much I know about horticulture. I’m more of a literature buff.”
“I just noticed your conversation with Ivy, so…”
“I understand. I just came here with someone when I first moved into the city.” They fall silent for a moment. “I think I need to sit down.”
“Sure, I saw a place to sit over here.”
Marius takes them by the hand and leads them to an iron wrought bench. They drop down, head tilted back to look at the night sky. They can’t see a lot. Too many clouds, too much light pollution. They feel Marius sit down next to him.
“How much would you be willing to bet that Ivy and Raph are making out against a tree right now?” He muses.
“We’ve been gone for five seconds.”
“And that’s all they need. I don’t have any money on me right now but I’d be willing to put another date on it.”
“So you need a transaction to go on another date with me, do you?”
“I… Oh, gods, no that’s not what I meant.”
Lyfrassir chuckles, nudging his side. “I’m joking.” They rest their head on his shoulder. The garden actually looks nice at night. It was interesting to see it in the moonlight where all of the edges were fuzzy and vague. “What would you think if I said I wanted to leave?”
“We said that we’d take you home any time it became too much for you.”
“No, not the gardens. New Midgard. As in go with you guys.”
Marius doesn’t say anything for a long time. “I’d say that things are very complicated, and that Raphaella or Ivy could explain why they are much better than I could. I think we could eventually, but… not right now.”
“I see.”
“We do love you, though. I really need you to know that.”
Lyfrassir smiles and lifts their head to kiss him. “I get it.” They stand up, dusting off their coat. “Come on, there’s one fucked up plant I don’t know the name of so I’m just going to have to show you.”
Lyfrassir goes home that night with a pink flower tucked behind their ear. They insisted the Mechs couldn’t take anymore than one, and honestly, they appreciated the gesture. Lyfrassir decides that after they make breakfast, they’ll clean up the papers on the floor. It’s not much, but it’s a start.