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"No," Idia said, completely aware that he sounded like a goddamn lunatic. "No. I'm not doing that."
It was fine when Ortho was around. He provided cover, could seem like the one Idia was mumbling to, but Idia was alone. Usually when alone, he tried to ignore the voices, with varying levels of success, but Great Seven. He needed to make his disapproval verbally known.
You think he's pretty.
Silver lay beneath an apple tree, back against the trunk, one knee propped up and a limp hand curled about it. His other hand lay beside him on the ground, fingers curling gently upwards as though to catch any stray apples. Even under the dappled shade of the tree, the sun's rays slithered through for the sole purpose of glimmering against his hair, his fucking eyelashes, painting the silver iridescent. His face was soft in sleep, lips parted slightly, head tilted to the side, a delicate rosy hue highlighting the tops of his cheekbones. Silver was undeniably ethereal.
Idia tried to make his flailing arms as inconspicuous as possible, tried to ignore the pink hue that was building up in his hair. What he wouldn't give to be able to control the damn thing's colour. "Of course, I think he's—" Idia bit off the end of his whispered sentence into a frustrated grumble. "That doesn't mean I'm going to go up to him. Hell no."
Just watching him sleep is pretty weird. And creepy.
"First off, fuck you, too. Secondly— ohmygodsholyfuckingshit—"
"Hello to you, too," Lilia said brightly, hanging upside down from the tree Idia had been taking cover from the sun under. He tilted his head, which was unsettlingly animal-like on a regular day, and was even worse when Lilia was upside down like a goddamn bat. "Admiring my boy, are we?"
Idia blinked. The pink had begun climbing higher. "Your… what?"
You don't know?
Idia grit his teeth. "Obviously not," he hissed under his breath, which made Lilia turn to him with a raised eyebrow. Idia shrank away and, admittedly unconvincingly, feigned a sudden coughing fit.
Lilia is Silver's dad.
Idia's fake coughing fit turned into a real one. "What? No. Shut up."
Lilia laughed. "No need to be shy," Lilia said teasingly, and Idia realised with no small amount of horror that he thought Idia was replying to him. Idia was going to bury himself under the tree. He knew that get some fresh air, take a walk, it'll clear your mind schtick was bullshit. He wished he'd never left his room. There were no upside-down hanging Lilias in his room. "He's adorable, isn't he? Strange how fast they grow. Humans are such hasty creatures."
If the earth wasn't willing to take him, Idia could settle for drowning himself in his hoodie. Idia made a garbled noise of complaint. Lilia didn't pay it much mind.
I think you just got parental permission.
"Shut up," Idia groaned, muffled into his hoodie. "Um, yeah," Idia said louder, away from fabric. "Mhm," he added, hoping beyond hope that if his answers remain lacklustre enough, Lilia might leave him alone. He could probably make a run for it, if all else failed, though he had the sinking feeling that, despite the several inches Idia had on Lilia, Lilia would have no trouble keeping pace.
"It would be good for him," Lilia mused aloud, "I think, to make more friends."
Idia blinked at Lilia. He fought the very, very strong urge to look in the vague direction of the voices incredulously.
Did you just get third-party friendzoned?
"That's not a thing," Idia mumbled, somewhat hysterically, before he could stop himself. Lilia made an inquisitive noise. Idia panicked. "No," he said hastily, feeling the pink burn of his hair, "I meant— I wasn't— yeah, friends. Good. The more the merrier."
Lilia's eyes crinkled with amusement and he reached out. Idia held his breath, genuinely terrified. Lilia tapped Idia on the nose. "You're quite lost in the clouds, aren't you, Shroud? Where's the little one?"
Ortho, last Idia checked, was with Vil, wanting to review an aesthetic change to his next suit design. It had been Ortho that had suggested Idia take a stroll while he waited for Ortho's return. Idia was profoundly regretting taking that particular piece of advice. "Busy," Idia managed.
Lilia nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Well," he said brightly, "if you'll excuse me, then."
And off he goes.
"What," Idia didn't manage to say before Lilia had whisked himself away, seemingly simply vanishing, leaving Idia to stare blankly at the space he left behind. It wasn't that Idia minded being left alone again; if anything, he was glad for that. It was that Lilia's departure had been so incredibly abrupt. Idia never could figure that guy out.
Ohh.
"What?" Idia snapped, not liking the feeling of knowing less than the maybe-omniscient voice in his head that he wasn't entirely sure wasn't just an auditory hallucination that had started manifesting strangely but coincidentially at the same time as the empty coffin during orientation.
Look.
Idia turned to look. Silver was awakening.
"Oh, shit," Idia cursed, standing up with dizzying speed.
"Idia?"
"Shit," Idia said again, quiet enough this time that only he and his little voice could hear it.
Silver's voice was still sleep-laden, drowsiness rounding the vowels of Idia's name into something soft and surprised. Silver was slow to sit up properly, and he winced at what was surely a stiff back. Slowly, he raised his arms above his head, folding them so he could stretch, the line of his body tilting to each side one by one, his back cracking. Idia could sympathise. He'd been known to suffer a stiff back after a late-night gaming session. Idia tried to look away. Silver's vest rose with the motion, his shirt crumpled and soft underneath. He should make a run for it. Idia stayed rooted in place.
Silver opened his eyes, settled them easily on Idia. Idia tried not to let his breath catch in his throat. He failed, miserably. The pale blue of his eyes glittered with interspersed violet, an effect that was entirely unfair when he tilted his head just so, the sunlight capturing him in a soft shimmer that set him aglow. His eyelids were only halfway lifted, so when he looked up at Idia, it was through his lashes. Idia needed to die. He was just so goddamn pretty.
Simp.
Idia couldn't even argue. "Um," Idia squeaked, and winced at the complete loser quality of his reaction. He may as well just carry a huge L stamped on his forehead. "Hi." Idia needed to run and hide. Idia was frozen, stuck, a deer in very, very dazzling headlights.
Good going, Idia. Super cool.
And then, because the universe was entirely unfair, and wanted him dead personally, Silver fucking smiled. The corners of his lips lifted, and his head fell back slightly. Idia was resolutely not looking at the column of his neck. Fuck, Silver was such SSS skin material. SSR card material. Gatekept behind real-world-non-game-currency material. Idia was going to faint. "Hello," Silver greeted, voice still syrupy thick.
Idia ran.
Idia, for fuck's sake, really?