Archive of Our Own

"Light…" mumbled Adrienne.

"Hm?" Asked Hyacinth, "what's on your mind, Rie?"

Adrienne held out her hands for Hyacinth to nestle into. The Ghost happily obliged before Adrienne said softly, "it's been almost a hundred years. Us, I mean."

Hyacinth twirled with a start. "Oh my! It has! We'd been so busy putting out fires lately, I'd nearly lost track of time…"

"And if you'd nearly lost track of time then imagine where I was. So, any regrets?" Adrienne asked with a warm smile and pure love on her face.

"Not a one. At least not with you. We'll agree to let some fashion choices stay in the past."

"Deal. Like when-"

"If you bring up the spikes I bring up the leather phase," Hyacinth interrupted with a warning tone.

The two laughed only like a happy couple who'd shared a lifetime could. When they'd had their fill of nostalgia, they turned back to look out over the fractured Martian surface. An impossible place living out countless disparate moments all at once was as good a place as any to reflect on a life well-lived.

Adrienne picked a flower she didn't recognize from a time rift and put it in Hyacinth's shell. In response, the Ghost spun once as though showing off a new dress. At once, both decided another hundred years sounded grand.

"Are you strictly sure this is smart," asked Lucky nervously.

Rayya tilted her shell quizzically. "Which part?"

Lucky considered for a moment before replying, "any of it really. But especially the part about two Ghosts buying sex toys? And anyway where do you have glimmer?"

"I'll have you know that I'm an extremely prolific author under my pen name."

"You-" sputtered Lucky before asking with biting sarcasm, "alright, which famous author are you secretly?"

"Harper Delacroix." She replied smugly.

"What?! You mean you're the one who wrote that trashy romance novel series?! Trashy and… anatomically questionable…"

"Hey! The love story between Valus Gal'aur and the spunky cryptarch Luka Sov is moving and highly profitable ."

"Okay and that's another thing! I really don't think making the main character the illegitimate offspring of a real person is in good taste!" 

"Yeah that got awkward when Asteryn started dating Crow. All that aside you're going to tell me how you know so much about my 'trashy' romance novels."

"Anyway we're getting off topic! How are we going to buy a sex toy for a woman who makes them? I mean, that's like buying a wood carving for a whittler!"

"It's more like buying a piece of clothing for a seamstress. You've gotta buy the materials and patterns she hates working with!"

"...oh. That makes sense, actually."

"Now help me find something cute and made of glass or something like that. Bonus points if it looks like an abstract sculpture."

Little Guy hummed to herself as she tended her plants. It had actually always been her dream to garden some, though she couldn't properly express why . In spite of getting to live her dream right now, a small part of herself had worried when Brigid settled down into the Eliksni Quarter. She knew Brigid was on the verge of a really dangerous burnout for a long time. It worried her that Brigid might become like Gella: Embittered and hateful. Guy knew that unlike Gella, Brigid couldn't stop helping. It was the core of her being. It's why Guy picked her, after all. But with how events had been wearing at her, Guy had frequently had to swallow concern that Brigid would finally break. Irriks couldn't have literally dropped into Brigid's life at a better time. Seeing her return to the battlefield was an enormous relief. She was a soldier at the core of her being and her time away from her duty was a reflection of how bad things had gotten. But then, the speed with which she'd bounced back after the Nightmare was testament to the immense amount of healing she'd managed to achieve in a short time. 

But for now, she mercifully didn't have to worry about her charge's mental state as she now had help. So she could tend her flowers and enjoy the simple bliss of tending to the small, colorful lives she'd helped to flourish. Something about bringing life to a space which had almost been turned into an irradiated hellscape made Guy feel like she understood her purpose in life.

"Nice to meetcha! I'm Waverly."

"Oh, you must be Apoorva's Ghost!" Lucky chirped happily. "It's a pleasure. You seem more… Balanced than Rayya."

"Oh yeah. Love her, mean it, but she's a regular Tinkerbell."

"Tinker-?"

"It's from an old play, don't worry about it. Her mischievous streak can be as much a charm point as it is- uhhhhhh…"

"Deeply frustrating?"

"Yeah! Just so." Waverly said. Before the lull in conversation could last too long he followed up, "so Sefi… What's it like being their Ghost?"

"Oh! I'm… honestly not sure. I never put much thought into that. I suppose it's as stressful as being any other Ghost. Though… They do have a habit of acting without thinking. And going off alone. And not thinking how their actions will affect others. And- oh Traveler above my Guardian acts like the Young Wolf."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that. They seem so nice though. Then again I guess 'nice is different than good,' as they say."

Lucky stammered, "O-oh! Don't get me wrong! They're an absolute sweetheart. They're empathetic to a fault, honestly. Their big problem is just not placing much value in their own life! But… They're working on it. Living for other people and such. Baby steps."

"Ahhh. Yeah I see what you mean. Speaking of, ever seen Man of la Mancha ?"

"Noooo…"

"It's kind of like if the main character in I, Citan was a good person."

"Ooh! That sounds interesting."

"Then I'll see you Friday then maybe?"

Lucky's response was somewhere between a strangled yelp and a confused stammer which he eventually translated into a bob of affirmation. 

Marbas re-settled his shell again.

"I can get you a new one. Really," offered Gella.

"No no it's just odd being back in a typical one after the Shank shell. I'm still getting used to it," replied Marbas hurriedly. He was perfectly honest when he insisted the shell fit fine. What he hadn't really adjusted to was Gella's complete change in attitude. On the scale of Gella's Risen life, the two hadn't been at the commune long at all. And yet, Marbas had never seen her like this. He appreciated it, even as he found himself a little saddened at the years they could've had like this if things had been different. He caught Gella also idly feeling the fabric of the simple forest green tunic she was wearing.

"I can get you a new one. Really," Marbas replied in a gently mocking tone. He never could've done this before.

Gella scoffed and replied, " I'm just not used to wearing colors and civvies."

Marbas then asked, "how is everyone anyway?" He did his best not to read her messages. He could expect her to read and share now.

"Haven't talked to Sefi in a bit, which is for the best. Better they enjoy their new partners than stay stuck home sulking," Gella replied before flinching and adding, "ahh- not that I can blame them after what happened."

"Mm. I've never been happier not to hear from someone for a while. What about Brigid?"

"Deployed again. I swear that woman is a machine. Well, you know what I mean anyway," she added with a slightly self-conscious laugh.

After a quiet moment Marbas said softly, "hey Gella? I'm glad we came out here."

After what felt like a interminable silence to the Ghost, Gella replied, "yeah. Me too, Marbas. Me too."