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At some point, Evernight would start locking the door when March let her take the wheel. (Unlikely, honestly.)
Why, she agreed to do such was a mystery to her.
There was nothing she desired to do, besides protect March. Though, she had to admit, spending time looking through March’s photo albums was rather endearing.
Of course, a certain someone seemed to have the mysterious ability to just sense when she was out.
Evernight was already sighing when March’s door slide open, Caelus standing right on the threshold of the room. He was clutching his arm to his stomach oddly.
His eyes lit up in relief as he spotted her, being able to somehow discern between Evernight and March at a glance.
The red eyes likely helped.
(Why, he would ever be so relieved to see her evaded her still.)
“What do you need?” Evernight sighed again, softer much to her annoyance, shutting the album on her lap closed gently. “And are you going to come in or not?”
Caelus smiled sheepishly at her, still lingering in the doorway. “I uh..”
He lifted the hem of his shirt. Revealing a rather awful gash dug into his abdomen.
Evernight felt her heart- March’s heart jump in her chest, lungs seeming to restrict themselves for a brief moment. Evernight didnt let either reaction show.
“I dont want to get blood on you guy’s carpet..?” He grinned nervously, letting his shirt fall and steadying himself with one hand on the doorframe. She could see pain evident in his eyes, and it was little surprise. That was a very deep wound. “Heh.. help patch me up?”
There was a faint hesitation in his eyes too, like he was half expecting that she’d deny him. Which she hated.
Evernight got up and walked over to him, not exactly wanting blood on March’s floor either. She took his hand off the doorframe, resting it around her shoulder. He exhaled a little, seemingly relieved she wasnt about to refute him.
“You have medical supplies in your bathroom still, yes?” She knew from March’s memories he’d been forced to stock them for himself. Considering he got injured so often. (Regardless be his powers derived from Preservation..)
Caelus blinked, the clear question of ‘How’d you know’ dancing on his lips for a moment, before he nodded.
Evernight started to help him back to his room, pausing briefly as she realized he was forcibly keeping weight off of her, like he was trying to not inconvenience her. Evernight held back a huff, and instead shifted how she was steadying him, forcing him to put actual weight on her.
Once he was, he let out an involuntary whine of relief.
It irritated her slightly that he was so intent on not inconveniencing her that he’d suffer himself.
The reason why it irritated her precisely escaped her.
Evernight was faintly amused at how flustered he was when she half carried him up the steps to his room. He knew precisely how strong March was, even if he was physically stronger, so his fluster was honestly endearing.(He was the physically strongest out of everyone on the Express, if March’s memories were correct. Which they seldom werent.)
“Sit and stay. Take your shirt and jacket off while I get supplies.” Evernight settled him down on the couch at his bed’s end, her words leaving no room to argue.
Going through his cabinets to collect the necessary medical supplies, she mentally noted to make sure he restocks on their next resupply. The fact they were dwindling to the point they were made March’s heart tighten.
Neither Evernight nor the currently slumbering March had a clue he was requiring them this often.
Returning to Caelus he had shed his upper layers, holding his bloody abdomen with a blatantly pained expression that he smothered the second he spotted her.
At least that didnt change- the sheer refusal, borderline inability, to show any sense of suffering around others, but especially March.
There was gold flaked around the wound, blood dried on his skin. The wound wrapped around his abdomen, to his back.
“Marastruck,” Caelus explained, taking her staring for trying to decipher what had made it. “Snuck up on me. Guess I'm rustier than I’d thought fighting ‘em..”
He let out a half-hearted laugh, falling silent as she started to treat his wound, cleaning the dried blood off him and disinfecting the gash.
Glancing briefly up at him, he had a faintly surprised expression, as if he was surprised at how gentle she was being.
“You need stitches,” Evernight remarked.
“Yeah.. i know. Would’ve gone to a doctor, but well- it was nighttime on the Luofu still, didnt want to bother anyone.” Caelus paused. “I, I can do them myself if you dont want to-“
“If you were able to fix this yourself, you would have.” There was no way he’d be able to simultaneously stitch his back with tearing any on his abdomen were he to try.
Caelus laughed nervously again.
She hated how nervous he was around her, and she hated how much she hated that.
Wait a moment. The Luofu’s day-night cycle wasnt thst far off of the Expresses. If it was night when he got this-
“How old is this?”
“Few hours?”
Evernight froze for a second, glancing at his bed. Sure enough, there was a puddle of his blood drying on it.
“I was waiting till March left you in charge,” He added quieter, almost apologetically.
“Anyone else could have helped you with this. Why me?” Evernight was worried- what if he had bled out? If it had been deeper than he thought? What was she supposed to tell March? She couldnt keep the faint anger from her voice, and her hands slowed as he flinched slightly.
“Himeko and Welt- they’ve been really worried about me after everything. There is no way im taking my shirt off in front of Black Swan, or Sunday- for uh.. very different reasons. I dont want to worry March. Normally I’d go to Dan Heng if I couldnt treat something on my own, but he’s.. still messed up from the ‘crash’ and me dying again so.. I didnt want to make him worry again.” Caelus didnt even hesitate as he added the next bit-
“And I know you wouldnt be worried like them.”
Evernight didnt flinch as she continued to stitch the wound, hand’s remaining steady.
But the words caused an ache in her chest.
“Dont care about stripping in front of me, hm?” She deflected.
“Pff? Nothing you havent already seen.”
Which was true. Evernight finished stitching, taking bandaged to wrap the wound, her eyes wandering his form unseen to him with how she was seated.
Dozens of faint scars covered his torso, shaped to his musculature. His clothes were borderline curios themselves, self-repairing and unstaining, meaning he got away with hiding injuries easily. And he did, often. March had taken to counting his scars, kicking up a fuss whenever she reached a new number.
Which meant Evernight had his scars memorized as well.
She was glad to see that, at least on his upper body, the only new mark would be the one she’s currently treating.
She finished bandaging his wound, pushing the medical supplies to the side as she stood.
“Thank’s Evernight-“ Caelus cut off as Evernight sat back down, this time on his lap, facing him. She took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her directly.
“You’re wrong,” She stated, voice flat as ever.
“Huh?”
“I do worry, Caelus.” Caelus stared owlishly at her, not daring to take his eyes away from hers, and face reddening as a result. She was pleased to know her gaze could fluster him as much as, if not moreso. “I dislike seeing you injured as much as our dear March does.”
Caelus still didnt reply, lips parted slightly with an adorably flustered expression.
She had to remind herself for a brief moment he was injured, and he cared for March, not her.
“As I’ve said before, I share all of March’s experiences, memories and emotions.”
Caelus stared at her, flushing even harder and finally looking away as her words sunk in.
Evernight almost wanted to laugh.
“Pretty sure you have a rather large difference of opinion on Dan Heng,” Caelus mumbled, attempting to deflect and joke.
For such a blatantly flirtatious man, he really didnt respond well to it being returned.
Evernight rolled her eyes, letting her hands slide to rest on his shoulders.
“You know very well that its mutual.”
Dan Heng disliked Evernight arguably moreso than Evernight disliked him, honestly.
He wasnt the only one. Sunday also seemed to dislike her a fair amount. Black Swan was borderline afraid of her… for valid reason. Himeko and Welt were both wary of her.
Caelus was the only to not seem to be discomforted by her presence. No, he believed she was discomforted by his, if anything, doing his very best to make himself as little of a hindrance to her as he could.
Caelus smiled faintly at her, still flushing hard. He was really adorable sometimes. It was something March thought often, and Evernight couldnt nor wanted to disagree. As a result of Evernight’s own personality, though, the thought manifested more aggressively for her.
‘Fuck it.’
Evernight turned his face back to hers, and pressed their lips together.
Her shoulders relaxed as he pressed back into the kiss, her hand threading into his hair. His hands found her hips, drawing her further up his lap.
She pulled away, head falling to his shoulder with a shaky inhale, trying to suppress the angry blush she knew was blooming on her face.
“Pff- here I was worried you disliked me,” Caelus joked.
Evernight scoffed, looking back up at him. “Are you kidding me? You had given me the very same impression.”
“Wh- huh? Evernight, you’re like Kafka and Acheron wrapped up into March. Why wouldnt I like you?”
Evernight rolled her eyes, looking up and staring at him.
“Cause of everything you did? Evernight, I'm friends with multiple space criminals, a woman who drugged and sent me to fight a fake-emanator without telling me, and a man who tried to use me as a bomb.”
His amused gaze softened, rubbing his thumbs on her hip, sending shivers up her spine. March’s body was unfairly reactive to his. The warmth in his eyes made her chest tighten too, but it was unclear whether that was a reaction of their shared body, or Evernight herself.
“You were simply doing what you thought was best to protect March. While.. frankly entirely insane, it’s not like I cant find the twisted logic in your actions. If I can forgive the actual mass-murdering terrorists that wiped my memories and play games and flirt with them, I can forgive you for going to whatever lengths you deemed necessary to protect our March.”
It was easy to forget, with how absurdly kind and heroic he is, that his own morals are also incredibly questionable.
Evernight hummed, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Caelus reciprocated, hugging her tight, disregarding the bandages she’s wound around his abdomen.
She had been wanting to properly hug him herself for some time. She knew it was one of those things she wouldnt ever properly understand till she experienced it herself. March’s fixations on hugs, Caelus’ in particular, had brought about the urge. If it was something March loved and enjoyed so dearly, clearly it had to be unbiasedly good, right?
Feeling it now, she could say, with a fair amount of bias, that it was. Evernight could understand why Caelus’ hugs were so enticing, to March, and to many others.
His embrace was warm, snug, and filled her with a sense of security that she was unsure how else to obtain.
Logically, it made sense. He was incredibly strong, incredibly sturdy, and genuinely radiated warmth like a heater. Which was enticing as is to someone who was generally cold. Paired with how devoted he is to protecting those he cares about (even at the cost of himself), it makes perfect, logical sense.
Even without that, Evernight found some part of herself wanting to just stay there.
No wonder March often demanded to spend the night in his bed, or him in hers, simply so he could hold her.
Caelus’ shoulders shook, and he let out a quiet laugh, rousing her from her thoughts.
“Mm?”
“Sorry, sorry. Thought of something stupid.”
Evernight stared expectantly at him, and he blushed as he elaborated.
“Just.. the idea that you like me- that you’ve liked me the whole time- it can paint some stuff in a really.. specific stupid light. Which isnt accurate, cause it wasnt even about me, it was about March, but-“ Caelus bit his lip, blurting out his next words and looking anywhere but her. “Alotta the stuff you did was honestly really kinda yandere-coded.”
Evernight took a moment to rack through March’s collection of terms, assuming it correctly to be manga or anime related. Finding the term, she froze, thinking over some of the actions she took, particularly in regards to him.
Such as separating him from his companions, particularly Dan Heng and Hysilens, pretending at first to be his girlfriend, quite literally kidnapping in a sense-
Evernight sighed, shaking her head with a exasperated fondness. Caelus laughed again, anxiousness gone this time.
“Well,” Evernight hummed, voice taking a teasing quality, “It’s not like I appreciated those memokeepers masquerading as March, to get to you.”
If she had been.. particularly cruel to those memokeepers in particular.. nobody had to know. They deserved it, regardless.
Using her March’s face and voice, to convince her graybird to do as they wished, atop the rest of the crimes they had committed ‘in memories sake’?
Unforgivable.
Caelus blinked at her, before grinning.
“Pff.. well, not like it doesnt suit you, mm? I guess you kinda are one, with everything you tried to do for March’s sake.” He grinned sharper, hugging her tighter to him. “I think it’s hot, honestly.”
He can really make a joke about anything, cant he? Evernight sighed, then paused, eyes narrowing as he winced.
Despite not wanting to, she pulled away from him, ignoring his whine. She slid off his lap, frowning st his bandaged wound.
“You need to lay down,” Evernight declared, looking ruefully at the bloodstained sheets. “Put the medical supplies away- carefully - while i fix that.”
Caelus obliged with a pout.
It was heartwarming to know he was just as clingy with her as he was March.
Evernight stripped the mattress, knowing already where he kept spares.
Caelus attempted to help when he returned, but quickly retreated at her glare, deigning to instead change into sleep clothes.
He not so subtly pulled out an extra shirt of his, plus boxer briefs, and set them to the side. March’s favored form of pajamas. (When she was sleeping in his room, at least.)
Settling down in the bed with a soft groan, she could almost see a non-existent tail wagging under covers as she changed into the clothes he’d set out.
“You really need more than just white shirts,” Evernight remarked judgingly, as she slid into the bed beside him. Caelus shrugged. He got that alot.
He wrapped his arms around her waist once more, pulling her flush against him, and Evernight felt herself unwillingly melting into his embrace. Oh. Oh, under the comfort of his blankets was unfair.
“I cant believe you waited hours,” She said sourly, fingertips brushing over the bandages.
“Glad i did,” He mumbled into her neck. Arguably, considering it had resulted in them both breaking free of believing the other disliked them, she was as well, but the sentiment still stood.
“What if you had waited too long?”
“I came to you soon as I sensed your path energy!” He defended himself petulantly.
Ah. Ironically, she had forgotten about that odd skill of his.
“Is thst how you differentiate between March and I so easily?”
“Mhm.”
“Let me guess.. they’re nearly the same, but mine is darker?” Her voice took on its familar flat tone, amused by the idea.
“No,” Caelus paused a second trying to figure out how to explain. “No its more like, March’s path energy feels like, more like snow, i guess, and yours is more like ice? Not darker or colder, but aah.. harder? Its hard to vocalise I guess.”
Fair enough, she supposed. Caelus hugged her closer, nuzzling into her neck. Aeons, he was clingy.
She couldnt say she disliked it, though. Especially not with how he was holding her so gently.
March grumbled, squinting her eyes closed shut tighter as awakedness beckoned to her.
She did not want to be awake. She was very comfortable, snuggled up in Caelus’ embrace. He was nice and warm, and his blankets were all cozy, and- wait a minute.
March’s eyes snapped wide open, excitement sparking in her chest.
She was waking up after making Evernight take the body.
With Caelus. She was waking up, snuggled up to Caelus, in Caelus’ bed, wearing Caelus’ clothes.
March wriggled around, clapping her hands on Caelus’ cheeks with a faint slap echoing in the room.
Caelus’ eyes snapped open, confused and half asleep as they met March’s.
“Caelus!” March gasped, eyes still wide.
Caelus blinked, processing.
“Nothing happened,” Caelus mumbled, trying to close his eyes shut.
“Nothing- Caelus!”
Caelus huffed, opening his eyes halfway.
“I asked for her help stitching myself up. We talked, Marchie. Figured out we both thought the other hated each other when that was far from true. Then she made me go to bed cause im hurt.”
“Wh- how did- Caelus, you promised you’d be more careful.”
“I was! I forgot marastruck revive before dying, and one got me good. Its been awhile, gimme a break.”
Caelus hugged her closer, nuzzling back into her neck.
It was fair that he’d be clingy with her, considering how long he’d been apart from her.
March sighed, relenting.
“Fine. Im making Evernight tell me everything though!”
“Mmmhmm,” Caelus humed back.
‘Our little graybird also called me a yandere,’ Evernight’s amused voice rang in March’s head.
“… Caelus you called her a yandere?”
Caelus went stiff, before groaning. “Im not wrong and you know it.. she agreed with me!”
March giggled, pressing a kiss to his pouting lips as she got comfortable again.
It was about time those two talked things out, honestly. Even if the conversation was absolutely a unique one. Both were probably amongst the most unique people in the universe, so made sense.