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The past few days had been silent. It wasn't Chase's fault.
It was Nox's fault.
He couldn't bear to look Chase in the eye, knowing how disgusting and small he was. But he also…would be lying if he wasn't terrified of Chase.
Why did he let it get this far?
Since when was he even allowed to trust humans like this? He didn't, and that was the worst part.
He shouldn't even be here, feeling ever so much like Rapunzel trapped in a tower. He knew Violet would agree with him, even if they were free now. The rest of his siblings didn't seem to think so. They were just as silent as Chase, Deacon, and Prunella were, skirting around each other, going into stories as if nothing had happened.
Those were the only times Nox ever let himself be human. He missed the feeling of his eyes warm against soft rays of sunlight, peeking through dusty clouds.
He missed the feeling of being able to fight for things. Nox couldn't fight anymore.
Hiding is what he did best.
So he hid. Hid from Chase, Deacon, and the little girl who was now even taller than him. He didn't care what it did to the people who had started to love him.
Every time he came back out of the book, he was only reminded of his smaller predicament. He was terrified and ashamed of who he was all at once.
His siblings imitated smaller meetings with him, to talk about trusting the humans, about gathering more narratonin and staying out of Ex-Libris' sight. These arguments only ended with Silver and Violet arguing, something that they'd never done this much until they'd been reunited again.
He saw what it did to his siblings, the awkward, lingering stares, the way they'd tried to ignore the humans, even as Violet didn't seem to take no for an answer. He could always hear her voice in the back of his head, chastising him for trusting the humans so adamantly, letting them find their location and save them.
And maybe…she was right. Nox was terrified of them, knowing the power they held over him, knowing he couldn't fight back, that if anything horrible happened to him, it would be all his fault for letting his trust overcome his need to survive.
He felt the worry settled as unease through his metallic body, the way he scooted away from Chase who even tried to offer an ounce of comfort, a truce, watching how his expression crumpled, his brown eyes losing their spark.
Nox didn't like to hear Chase cry. It was in the hoarse breaths he took, soft and choking all at once. He heard Chase choke under his own breath, trying to muffle any sounds that the keys could hear.
The rest of the keys were asleep when Chase cried for the first time outside of a storybook. Not Nox and Violet, though. They heard his hoarse cries, Violet bewildered at how humans could show an ounce of emotion, her poised expression carrying a hint of surprise, almost…remorse?
Nox however, wanted nothing more than to walk downstairs and curl up in his arms. How he missed Chase. He missed his soft skin and pretty eyes that followed him in any room he entered. He missed how Chase would talk to him, cling onto his sleeve, kiss him if they were alone…
He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss Chase. Chase, who didn't leave, hadn't hurt him the second he'd realized he was a key too.
Deacon and Prunella hadn't either. They'd left him alone, ignoring Violet and Nox for as long as they'd wanted, for as long as they'd make it clear that they didn't want any company.
Nox couldn't just standby for this long, not when Chase was— in anguish? Over him?
He couldn't…
Chase's heart was too big for any of this.
Nox hesitated as he started to descend down from the cushioned shelf they'd made their hideaway spot. Violet hissed, "What are you doing?!"
Nox looked to her for a mere second as he barely gripped onto the second shelf. "D-doing what is right."
The words are a little louder, and they ring in the air between them. She tilts her head down to meet his moonstone-adorned eyes.
She looks down at her younger brother, the very one she'd curated, helped grow outside the small box he'd thrown himself into. "I— I cannot keep hiding any longer, even if I am this small," he adds.
She meets his expression, as if she doesn't know what to say. Like a sister, after a moment of musing, she murmurs, "Well…if it is what is best for you. I do not know. But be careful."
The moonlight reflects onto her through the windows, and it's what makes Nox realize that Violet really does shine. She's done enough for him, and now he only wants to do the same for someone else in need of vulnerabilities. "I will, sister."
She freezes as he descends down to the last shelf. Something hides behind her expression like she's aching to say more. "If you say so." Violet shifts along the cushions on the top shelf and turns away, now only a faint glimmer of opal.
He pauses as he reaches for the steps. He can't quite…climb down on his own, can he? He'd risk falling, just like Silver once had, and he'd rather die then be cracked, feeling empty for the hours that he'd have to stay like that.
God.
"Ch-Chase?"
He hears a creak and then the springing of the bed that Chase has been laying on. "Am I hearin' things," he murmurs, his voice hoarse with fresh tears.
"You're not. It's…No— Buddy." He shoots up in his bed, though immediately falls back down with a soft hiccup.
"What?"
"It's Buddy, I've told you."
"What do you need? You haven't talked to me in a whole week," he musters. "Didn't think you'd want to. I just said I'd give you space."
"I—" He was the worst at apologies. "I'm sorry. For ignoring you. I— can you just get me out of the attic? I can't do this."
Chase sits up, weary from sleep. In the dark, he can only see the faintest of lights illuminating his expression. Of course, Chase immediately comes to help him, despite whatever state he's in, whatever he's done. He extends a teddy bear out to Nox, which makes him pause. "Well, you didn't like when I tried to hold you. Just take the bear."
"Hold me." Chase freezes, body going stiff as if he can't believe his ears.
"Wh-what?"
"Chase Hollow, like and follow, I asked if you could hold me in your pretty hands." He groans, exasperated. "Don— Don't make me ask again."
Chase flushes. "Okay, just— shut up." He takes the teddy bear in one hand while extending a careful palm out to Nox on the other.
Nox gingerly steps out onto his palm, and Chase is filled with eager shivers as he takes him down the stairs. "What do you want?" Chase murmurs. "Space?"
"I— I just want to be close to you."
"After all that—"
"Yes Chase, after all that. I'm sorry." He blinks.
"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault. Humans haven't even been nice to you."
Nox shrugs, trying to mull over every emotion under Chase's palm. "I— I ignored you. On purpose. And you were crying about it. That wasn't fair."
Chase snorts. "I wasn't. I don't cry. I had a cold."
Nox looks up at Chase. "Can I sleep in your bed for today?"
"Buddy, where is this coming from?" He snorts as Nox nuzzles into his palm apologetically, trying to pour in every ounce of apology that he can.
"It's warmer with you. I can't just…" Chase stands at the foot of his bed, hesitant. "I don't care what Violet thinks about this. And I could care even more less about my trust issues."
Chase shakes his head. "You don't have to make it up to me like this. I could— I could hurt you without realizing it."
He looks around Chase's room, his rickety vanity table and the teddy bear. "Fine. But— can I…"
"Can you…what?"
"Put me close to your face." Chase pauses, shifting his palm up. He wasn't expecting for Nox to reciprocate with any ounce of affection. Nor was he expecting Nox to lean in to press a soft kiss to his cheek. Cold, maybe, but even then Chase felt warmth flush against his skin, his eyes lighting up ever so slightly in the dim light.
Chase pauses in the moment, blinking back to normal when Nox breaks apart. "Is that your definition of an apology?" He mutters.
He places Nox back onto his vanity table, pressing the teddy bear close to his small, metallic body, like it was a warm hug for Nox to feel, instead of the suffocating pressure of Chase's bed. "Sorry I can't do much at six inches tall!"
"Yeah…you're just really tiny."
Chase kneels down so they're at eye level. "'m not tiny."
"Tiny," he coos. Before Nox can realize what's happening, Chase presses a soft, feather light kiss to his forehead in the dim, intimate light of their bedroom.
He blinks rapidly, heat spreading through his non-existent skin. "I— Chase!" He hisses. "You can't—" He's lost between breaths, groaning into his metallic palms.
Chase takes the opportunity to press a kiss to the side of his face. "Are you gonna talk to Deacon and Prunella tomorrow? And your other siblings?"
"I— I'll try."
"Good. Now get some sleep." He presses another kiss close to his mouth before turning away.
He lies down where Nox is against the teddy bear, trying not to grin as he turns his head away. Before he can call for Chase to come back, to kiss him one last time, or a million more times because he's actually hopelessly in love with him, he stops himself, turning against the bear Chase placed for him to sleep next to.
Maybe it's okay if he falls asleep with Chase right next to him.