Work Text:
⚝
“Do you still need soap, or do you have soap already?” Killian asked, shuffling through the bundle of items in his arms from the market. He leaned to peek into the small crate Euphoria had tucked under his arm that was quickly filling up with his own necessities, though the tiefling may not have deemed them as such.
The pair had spent the better part of the morning perusing the market square, buying bits and bobs in preparation for their move-in. Their shared attic was mostly bare aside from the spare beds they were provided, along with the miscellaneous furniture that had been stored up there from years past. It hadn't been difficult to convince Euphoria to come out with him to do a little shopping.
“I have soap,” Euphoria mumbled, not looking up from the contents of his crate, “I do think I need a slip for my pillow, though, if you’ve seen anyone with linens.”
“Oh, that we may have to go to a brick and mortar shop for. Remind me when we are through the market and we can look around for one…”
"Noted. What are we looking for next?"
"Oh, we should get decorations! Do you want to go look for a tapestry or something?" Killian gasped, looking around the stalls with new determination.
"Absolutely not." Euphoria's tone was flat, but his blunt reactions still gave him a chuckle.
"You're such a killjoy..."
Killian felt a soft pulse in the center of his mind that made his eyes flutter, raising his hand to brush the side of his head before his attention was drawn by a figure watching him from the alley. He stilled, turning to look into the dark as Euphoria continued down the street ahead of him.
His eyes searched until her silhouette became clear, swimming into focus amidst the blur of the world around him, and with it, her voice.
“Don’t get attached. You promised.”
The scattered light in the alley hit her form unnaturally, illuminating her long curls, mismatched clothes, and the stockings that frayed away from her bloodied knees.
“I—gh…” Killian grimaced, but was unable to look away from her dirty face and hair. “I can have friends, minnow, I’m not going to—“
“You know it’s a bad idea. You’ll lose him, too, with time. What will he think of you when you have to leave?”
Euphoria’s gait slowed as he noticed Killian’s presence was no longer behind him. He twisted to glance over his shoulder, curious to see which booth of knickknacks had caught the man’s eye this time, but his amused expression fell when he saw him standing stone-still, staring down a dark alleyway.
“He will move on when he finds his greener pasture. You can’t stop that fate. Don’t make the inevitable hard for him.”
The tiefling stopped and turned around fully, thinking his distraction odd, and called out to him to get his attention.
“Killian! Are you coming?”
Euphoria’s brows furrowed after a few second’s wait produced no response. He wove his way back up the street to where Killian had stopped, pausing a few feet away.
“Hey. Killian.”
His face was blank. He must not have heard him somehow. There was no reaction as he continued to stare into the empty alley, his expression remaining a mix between concern, confusion, and vacancy. His arms were beginning to go slack, threatening to spill their contents on the damp market street.
Euphoria reached out, grabbing his elbow gently to get his attention.
Killian roused from his stupor, his eyes squeezing closed and turning to meet Euphoria’s eyes before gently shaking his head. He slowly blinked back to a sense of awareness, still wearing that odd distant expression on his face for a few seconds before his usual easygoing smile began to come back, though it did little to reassure Euphoria in the moment.
“Hmm?”
“Killian? What’s wrong?” he asked, withdrawing his hand from Killian’s arm. He let out a light chuckle and shook his head again.
“Oh, ah… nothing. I just got lost in thought. What were we looking for?” he asked before he walked on, not pausing to hear the answer.
Euphoria furrowed his brows, looking down the empty alley with suspicion. He studied it for what might have drawn Killian’s attention so intensely, frowning to himself when he came up with nothing out of the ordinary.
He sighed with frustration, turning to catch up with Killian’s stride.