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"Are they asleep?"
"It's more likely that they're dead."
"Shut up, idiot, you know that's not true."
"Honestly, I didn't think either of them ever slept."
"What? What did you think Cypher is?"
"I dunno, a robot? Like KAY/O?"
"Okay, fair, but—"
"He just moved. Did he just move? Am I seein' things?"
"Shh! You'll wake them up then we'll all die."
"You're so fuckin' dramatic, oh my god—"
"What are you three doing?"
Jett squeaks and whirls around, pressing her back against the wall and coming face to face with an unimpressed Sage. Yoru and Phoenix both flinch and freeze momentarily in their spot, only turning around slowly when Jett elbows them.
Sage raises her eyebrow higher, crossing her arms. "What's going on?"
"Nothing!" Jett exclaims in an extremely high-pitched voice, winces, and clears her throat into something more normal sounding. "I mean—nothing. We were just—"
Yoru cuts her off. "We were heading to the gym, but then we saw—" He gestures towards the doorway that leads to the common room, the one that they had all been peeking through before Sage's unexpected arrival. "—that."
Sage's stare becomes curious—but no less exasperated—as she steps forward to peer into the common room. A nervous Jett, nonchalant Yoru, and slightly guilty Phoenix all peek inside again.
What greets them is an oddly domestic sight. Cypher is sitting on one side of the couch, head lolling against the back of the sofa and hat tipped over his eyes in a way that obscures them from sight. In his lap is Omen, back resting against the arm of the couch and legs propped up on the other side of Cypher's thigh, arms curled together on his stomach and chest rising in soft breaths. Neither of them seem to be aware of the small group of people that has congregated near one of the two entrances to the room. Omen, at least, definitely seems asleep.
"Ah," Sage says after a moment. "I see."
"I'm not sure if we're allowed to go in." Jett winces. "I don't wanna wake them up by accident or something. Do you think they'll get mad?"
"Fifty-fifty," Phoenix guesses.
"I'm sure you'll be fine," Sage laughs, sending them a smile before stepping into the room. Jett watches in slack-jawed awe as she strolls right up to the couch.
The moment she nears the two, Cypher stirs, the hand that had been resting on Omen's head twitching and coming up to move his hat out of his face.
Sage, to her credit, doesn't even seem bothered. She is truly a fearless woman. Jett's respect for her is skyrocketing as they speak. "Are you alright, Cypher?"
Cypher lifts his head, the lenses of his mask flicking shut once, then twice as he blinks again, before the question fully processes in his brain and his head turns her way. "Hm? Ah—yes, I am fine. No need to worry. I must've dozed off for a second." He looks down at Omen and grimaces, though a fond hand brushes over the top of the wraith's head gently. "I've been meaning to get up for a while now, but I don't want to wake him up."
If he spots the trio of Radiants staring at him from the doorway, he shows no sign of it.
"Is Omen alright too?" She asks. "He usually does not want to be seen like this."
Vulnerable is a word she does not say, though it's obvious what she means. Omen does not like being vulnerable, especially around other people. Jett can count on one hand the amount of times she's seen him being anything less than carefully put together or, on a mission, scarily bloodthirsty.
(Then again, she doesn't spend that much time around Omen at all. For a variety of reasons—but partially the fact that she's always wondered if her wind could ever blow him away. He seems concerningly smoke-like; like he's just barely on the cusp of solid. Perhaps she should ask him. Hm.)
Cypher shrugs. "He's been unusually restless these days, that's all. He is fine, as far as I can tell." He laughs lightly. "I wanted to help him rest, but I didn't expect him to fall asleep like this. I trust you won't tell anyone?" At this, his voice sharpens and he turns towards the other three not in the room, blue lenses wide and expectant. "Right?"
Phoenix nods hastily, Yoru averts his gaze, and Jett squeaks. "Right!"
And just like that, Cypher's menacing demeanor vanishes. The lenses narrow in a semblance of a smile. "Excellent," he says cheerfully. "Jett, would you mind handing me the tablet on the coffee table? I'd get it myself, but it seems as if I am going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future."
"Sure," she agrees cautiously, stepping in to reach for the device. Phoenix trails after her tentatively, looking at a loss for what to do, and after a moment of hesitation Yoru follows too.
Cypher utters a thanks and takes the tablet from her.
(With a full view of the two now, Jett notes that Omen's face is completely dark. A void of black without the faintest glow of his usual three blue stripes or even the eyes that Cypher swears that he has. It's strange, but then again, Omen is a very strange individual in a very strange situation. There are hardly many people in the world who have been torn apart and pieced back together, after all.)
"Sorry," Jett starts, "but why are you stuck? Can't you just get up?"
"And wake Omen up?" Cypher laughs quietly. "I wouldn't dare. He hardly sleeps as is. What kind of cold-hearted person would I be if I did?"
"Wouldn't make much of a difference," Yoru mutters under his breath, fortunately too low for Cypher to hear. If he had, who knows what Cypher might've said or revealed. At this point he probably has dirt on just about everyone.
Although, he isn't cold-hearted or cruel at all. He's actually quite nice, save for his inherent curiosity about everyone and stalker-ish tendencies. He's helped Jett out a couple of times in the past and is a very reliable source of information, even if she can never really tell when he's joking or not.
"How thoughtful of you," Sage says. She smiles warmly. "We will leave you be then."
"Oh, of course." He waves a hand dismissively. "Don't allow us to keep you from passing through. Go ahead to wherever you are heading." There is a hint of warning beneath his tone. It's not a suggestion.
"Oh, right," Jett laughs nervously. She links arms with both Yoru and Phoenix and starts dragging them away. "We'll be off to the training rooms now. Bye!"
Sage shoots them an amused look.
Omen, miraculously, doesn't even stir.
She only realizes that she'd forgot her water bottle on the third sparring round between her and Yoru. Phoenix offers his, but she waves him off and says that she'll just run back to her room really quick to grab it.
And so she finds herself jogging through the hallways, only slowing one she hears a low murmur of familiar, uncharacteristically gentle voices.
Jett carefully peeks into the common room again. Lo and behold, Cypher and Omen are still there in the same positions. It's a bit of a miracle, considering it's been a full hour since she last saw them.
"Omen," Cypher is cooing gently. "Darling, are you awake?"
Omen hums groggily, shifting very slightly, enough that Cypher grimaces slightly. His legs have fallen asleep, no doubt.
"Mm?" Omen murmurs. From this angle, Jett cannot see his face, but she can see the way that Cypher's mask lenses narrow in what she's learned is a smile. "Cypher?"
"Hayati," he greets softly, so achingly gentle with the word that she briefly wonders if this is really the same sly guy she's come to know over the course of her employment here. "How are you feeling?"
Omen hums again, leaning further into Cypher's chest. He yawns and Cypher breathes out a chuckle. "Better." A slight pause. "Stop looking at me like that."
"My apologies. I just find your eyes so cute," Cypher laughs. Omen grumbles again and shifts. "Oh, and… there they go. What a shame."
"You act as if I can control it," the wraith mumbles, his voice soft and quiet and rough in that freshly-awakened kind of way. If Jett had to guess, she'd assume that his face is back to its usual appearance of three blue stripes in a verticle line, almost like a claw mark.
Cypher hums. "I know you can't, love. That doesn't mean I still do not adore them. Or you."
Omen is quiet for a minute. Then, he responds, words comically strained and his tone almost petulant (if that is a thing that Omen can sound, but it's hard to believe). "Be quiet."
Omen is flustered, she realizes with a start. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the—
"Only if you make me."
What the fuck?
Who knew Cypher was such a smooth talker? Jett doesn't know what to do with this information.
When she tunes back in to the conversation, Cypher is speaking.
"—as much as I'd like to stay here forever, I also have work to do, darling. Would you like to go to my room and sleep on an actual bed this time?"
"You have too many pillows," Omen grumbles. He relents anyway. "I suppose I have nothing else to do."
"You hurt my feelings. Pillow mounds are the pinnacle of comfort, I'll have you know."
A grunt. "We'll see."
They're getting up, Jett realizes. Quickly, she ducks back behind the doorway and shoves her hands into her pockets to stroll out into the open, hoping she looks casual enough and not like she was technically spying on them.
She didn't really mean to, anyway. She just wanted to get her water bottle, that's all.
Omen and Cypher both look at her when she walks past. She offers them a wave and a smile. Omen, now standing, nods coolly in return, and Cypher tilts his head curiously at her in a way that makes her feel like she's a bug under a microscope.
If he notices or suspects anything, he doesn't show any sign of it.
Jett wipes her sweaty palms on her pants the second she is out of sight and the weight of Cypher's scrutinizing gaze disappears.
She needs to find her goddamn water bottle.