Chapter Text
Exusiai/Texas “too quick, mumbled into your scarf”
"I told you to call me."
Exusiai blinks at dancing lights in the distance, floating far out of reach. Her breath is a visible stream in the icy night air, drifting when she answers brightly, "I did. Isn't that why you came?"
Texas carries her with strength belying her frame. She pauses to fix her grip on Exusiai's thighs, shrugging their satchels back over her shoulders. There's a slow sigh of resignation, an exhale of mist from between her lips, warmer than it should be.
"You shouldn't have gone out in this weather."
"It was a small delivery, I swear."
"If I hadn't been nearby already…"
"I thought you had the van today."
"No, boss took it this morning."
Exusiai wriggles forward at this, digging her knees into Texas' waist. "So how did you get here?"
It's a simple answer.
"I walked."
Texas seems oblivious, focused on the snow that's begun to drift about their faces. Exusiai settles back into her thoughts, faintly frowning. "Oh…"
They trek across the city, an angel draped over a wolf's back, though nothing is surprising anymore. Exusiai presses into the crook of Texas' neck, through her scarf, past her collar. It smells familiar, smells like home.
"Your skin is on fire," Texas mutters, picking up the pace. She's glancing at street signs and lamp posts, tracking with all the precision of a professional transporter.
"I could melt the snow out of our way with my face."
Texas isn't fazed in the slightest. "That won't be necessary."
"Are you sure?" Exusiai laughs though it sounds weak. Her head is pounding, nose frozen and fingers slipping.
Texas moves faster still. There's silence for a time, only the sounds of steady breathing and the crunch of boots on ice to distract them.
"Hey," Texas says, eyes darting through the streets. "Don't fall asleep. Keep talking to me."
Exusiai sinks into the softness of knit and wool and navy blue. She whispers dazedly, "I can't believe you found me."
Again, the response is easy.
"Of course. You called."
Texas doesn't understand what's so difficult about any of this—and maybe that's always been the point.
"I've never had that before," Exusiai mumbles, thinking of blue in other shades and hues. Other pasts and lifetimes.
"Had what?"
Exusiai doesn't answer.
Texas skids to a stop outside the safehouse, scarf trailing in the wind. She feels the heat of lips moving against her neck, rambling softly, unintentional, but it burns just the same.
"You have me now," Texas says, easy in her conviction. She's walking in, setting Exusiai down at last. "Don't forget."
Exusiai sighs contentedly, fever taking over. She drifts into dreamless sleep, where warmth encases her from head to toe.
And the difference is this: when she wakes, Texas will be there.
Blaze/GreyThroat “broken, begging me not to leave”
The small hand on her face is a shock. Its caress can't possibly be real, can't possibly be true, can't possibly—
"Don't go," GreyThroat says, barely, words stumbling from her lips, drunk on beer and sound and nervousness. She's an odd picture of restraint, sitting at the bar, knees together, back tall. Somehow it makes her appear so small and… alone.
Blaze leans into the touch, just a fraction, even if she thinks she shouldn't. She's not sure when they became this way. Neither here nor there. Neither friend nor foe.
"I'll be back soon."
"You won't be." GreyThroat's gaze is steady, even if her hands are not. They both know she's not talking about any mission.
"You're… not thinking straight," Blaze says, brushing a strand of hair from green eyes. They follow her movements and for a moment it's hard to tell there's anything wrong.
"No," GreyThroat sighs into her glass. She pulls away to face the bar, looking far beyond it, smaller than ever. Honesty slips quietly from her tongue where it never has before. "I'm thinking about you."
Blaze falters, elbow digging into the counter where she's leaning. She's acting casual. She's acting fine. "That's not true," she murmurs through the pounding in her ears.
GreyThroat glances up, frowning at the space around, blinking rapidly like she might…
"Sorry," Blaze says. Her jaw is so tense. She didn't mean to…
"Forget it."
GreyThroat slides from her seat, refusing assistance and staring dead ahead. "I'll see you… at the next meeting."
"Wait—"
Soft feathers disappear around the corner, leaving Blaze to reach for nothing. They stand apart again. Neither here nor there.
"Don't go," Blaze mutters to no one, unsure to whom the words truly belong.
Nearl/Platinum “from very far away”
Blame it on a past half buried, blame it on a life half lived. The blinking lights are a beacon of stress. The incessant tone, a bane to her psyche.
Platinum hates answering her phone.
Except lately.
She glares at the device, placing it awkwardly to her ear, old habits unfolding. "Hello?"
"Good evening, Operator."
Oh. Of course. She melts in recognition, softness lacing her tone even when she rolls her eyes.
"Champion."
The line is briefly silent, yet the faint sounds of static and breath and tension are enough to make her shiver.
Nearl clears her throat. "Sorry. That was far too formal, wasn't it?"
"Mhm, very stiff, very boring." Platinum reclines lazily on a makeshift bed. "But we'll work on it."
"I was worried when you didn't check in."
"Ah."
Work with Rhodes Island can take one far and wide, sometimes for days at a time. Currently, Platinum finds herself waiting out a storm, bunkered down in the outskirts of a town stricken by Catastrophe.
"I'm fine, Margaret. I can handle myself."
"I know. I know. I just…"
Platinum refuses to smile at the sound of that voice, so endearingly hesitant, so incredibly earnest. She wonders if she's ever told Nearl so.
"I'm safe," she reiterates softly.
"Alright… Good."
Silence again, not uncomfortable, simply still.
"I—" they speak at once.
"You first," they fumble again.
"No, you—"
Silence.
Platinum bursts into quiet laughter, a lilting sound, so pretty when it fills the room. "This is dumb," she says, playful in her tone. When her voice subsides she realises the line has been quiet. "Margaret—?"
"Yes! Yes, I'm here," Nearl says quickly as if snapping to attention. "I'm listening."
Platinum wants to tease a little more. "Are you sure?"
"Of course. I was thinking."
Platinum hums thoughtfully. Just one more prod. "Thinking of…?"
She imagines the fluster on that handsome face, the way it glows, the way it calms.
Nearl breathes carefully, fearless in every way. "You." A pause between static. "I miss you."
Platinum buries her face into the pillow, listening to every detail of Nearl's voice and muffling her own for some semblance of composure.
"How are you like this…?"
Nearl only answers, unabashed, "I hope you return safely soon."
"Me too. It's really no fun out here." A pause between heartbeats. "Without you."
She feels Nearl's smile through her breathing alone, the warmth of it seeping through the phone, clutched between her fingers like a lifeline. Radiant, they call her. They have no idea.
"Call me tomorrow?" Platinum says quietly.
Nearl clears her throat dramatically. "Affirmative, Operator Platinum. I will be in contact."
Platinum groans. "You… are so silly."
"I seem to recall you thought it was charming."
Ah. So she has told Nearl so. She expects to tell her many more times. Face to face. Hand in hand.
It's amazing how lightness finds her through the storm.