#addels

Everything echoes now that the church is empty, save for the priest and the lone girl still praying in one of the front pews. She raises her gaze when spoken to, a smile softer than the wind gracing her lips, a little more than just melancholic.

"I'm sure your brother will be fine," the priest says, reaching out a hand to help her stand up. The pain etched so deep in her features that it's visible even when she's smiling is heartbreaking. "You should go home and keep a lookout for when he returns."

She smiles further, yet no less sad. "You know, Father," she tells him, softly like the chiming of the wind chime in the garden, "I don't think he's coming back. But I'll find him."

Arme sighs, brows settling together as he looks at the young, all too naive and kind-hearted girl. "The Goddess will watch over your journey, I promise you that."

"Thank you, Father. I'm sure I will find him if I look enough."

Arme doesn't have the heart to tell her it might be pointless, that Aren might be gone for good and she will just waste her time. That he might’ve become another victim. So he doesn't, just makes sure she at least goes home to pack for such a journey and remembers enough food. She tells him her friend is coming along, and he is at least a little relieved.

And then he's alone in the church, left to light the candles and replace the light gone with the sun's setting. The flames flicker to and fro, illuminating the statues with their fickle light, shadows stretching across the pews and tiles.

Arme wants to retire for the night, wants to blow all the candles right back out and retreat back into his private room to sleep, but such a thing is impossible. The calendar placed upon his desk has today circled in red ink, the weekend of tax collection.

He looks out of the window at the trees gently swaying in the light breeze, eyes unfocused and seeing nothing. He doesn't see anything even when he turns his attention to the church interior itself. The statue of his Goddess looks impassively back down at him, pupilless stone eyes judging him for each and every single one of days like this.

"It was for the good of the village," he tells her, an excuse, an apology, all packed together into a neat little box of regret and determination.

Devils are not creatures to be trifled with, and if he had the option to keep them from hurting his people, the people, sheep, lambs, that the Goddess left in his care, he had the obligation to.

But demons were never ones to uphold promises.

He seats himself at the altar, eyes gazing off into nowhere again. The Goddess will forgive him for sinning like this, he will make it up by avenging the dead kids.

Any minute now, when the clock in his room chimes its ninth hour, the demon will come, donning his usual lopsided grin, boasting about the power he holds over Arme and proceed to take his share of tax. Arme's hands ball into fists at the mere thought of it.

Tonight won't be like that. Tonight will end with blood soaking the Goddess' stony feet and his little knife stabbed through the demon.

Let it be over already so he can apologise to the Goddess wholeheartedly for his foolish trust.

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"What… do you think you're doing?"

The moon is high in the sky, reflecting more than enough light for demon eyes to see perfectly. It seems bloodthirst has dampened the great sense somewhat, though.

White hair swishes as the demon's head whips up, body frozen mid bite, holding the slumping, long dead human at an awful angle. Their blood coated neck is at full display, huge chunks gnawed off down to their stomach.

They might've once been a woman.

"Get out!" the demon hisses, pulling the corpse closer as if that would repel the other one, standing above him in a mockery of a threat.

Red hair is swept away by the wind and the demon reaches out, calling forth a sword out of thin air. It falls heavy into his hand and he swings at nothing, slicing the air with an audible swoosh.

"That should be my line," he mutters, flexing his fingers against the velvety hilt. Perspiration breaks out on his forehead and it gets just the barest amount harder to breathe. "This town is mine! Leave or taste the wrath of my blades!"

The other demon, still crouching, hisses at him, actually hisses like an animal, and Infi can't suppress a click of his tongue. "So unrefined…"

And then he doesn't have the time to care about the other's mannerisms. He's lunged at, barely dodging the sword that comes out of nowhere and parrying the slash aimed at his side. He has to admit, even as he is panting, holding two swords now and trying to steady his feet, that at least the other has some moves.

He wishes he wouldn't, though, because it would seem he can't keep up with said moves. He feels sluggish from lack of nutrients, his body far beyond letting him know it hurts anymore.

He just had to have jumped into this new idiot who doesn't understand the concept of territory today. He could've been in the church - and how funny that sounds out of context, ha! - with Arme, warm and filling his belly…

He swings a slash at the demon, gripping the swords with trembling hands, knuckles beyond whitened already. It misses, the fucker too fast, sidestepping too easily, in fact--

He's behind Infi now, plunging his sword through his stomach.

For a second, nothing happens. Then Infi's swords clatter to the ground and he cries out, now-free hands gripping his side through the torn vest. The other demon pulls the sword out mercilessly, causing a way-too-big spurt of blood to come gushing out. Infi's hands are hardly enough to stop it.

The swords on the ground turn to dust from the blades down, soon nothing but twinkling powder on the grass, gleaming in the moon's light.

Infi grits his teeth, doing his best to put pressure onto his wound, and glares at the other demon. He'll get his revenge, mark his words. The mental ones anyway, since he doesn't think anything coherent would come from his vocal chords right now.

He spreads his wings and lifts his body above ground wearily, movements sluggish and jerky. The demon simply watches, still holding onto his sword, still dripping with Infi's blood. It's pathetic, to have to retreat from a fight, but Infi doesn't have a death wish just yet.

No, his wishes have been far from those morbid ones recently.

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There's a crash, and Arme is on his feet in an instant, blood freezing in his veins. He storms out of the back, holding onto a candelabra like a lifeline and scanning the church as best as the dying candles allow him to. His fingers tremble just so around the knife's handle.

One of the stained glass windows is now laying in a pile of stained glass shards on the floor, the grandiose picture adorning it now forever lost. And in the middle of that jagged, sharp mess...

Lays Infi.

Arme rushes up to the fallen demon, mind burning with anger and something uncomfortably similar to what he had felt talking to Miss Devanam earlier. There's a pool of blood spreading beneath the mess of red hair and limp wings.

It's eerily like he had imagined, and yet nothing like it at the same time.

"Demon," he calls out, refusing to crouch down and give into the impulse to check the other's pulse, or make sure he's all right in general. He was supposed to make the other like this, he wasn't supposed to just crash in already mangled.

Infi groans, twitching in the floor and probably digging the glass pieces into himself in the process. It looks like it takes him considerable effort to push himself up to look at Arme, elbows shaking as he puts his weight on them.

“Yo,” he rasps, “Sorry I’m late, I ran… into someone.”

“Finally got what you deserved, huh?”

“Nah,” Infi laughs. It sounds awful, and must hurt awfully. “I ran into the one causing trouble around here, but ah—”

Arme’s fingers squeeze around the knife — it would be so easy to drive it through the demon, so easy to end him right where he’s laying like the maggot he is… But Arme sighs and places the knife onto the altar instead.

“...I’m weak right now…”

He kneels next to Infi, completely unlike when he kneels to pray, and hefts the demon up. There’s naught but a whine of complaint. Infi is little more than just dead weight in Arme’s hold, and despite being skinny and short, he weighs surprisingly enough, especially when not putting — or unable to? — in effort to help.

“I think I have bandages,” Arme mumbles, an explanation Infi is not listening to.

Blood gets everywhere, all over his robe, and he grits his teeth to try and not think about it as he hauls Infi into the back room. It’ll take a lot of scrubbing to get rid of all of it before the next sermon.

“Sit,” he commands and sets Infi down onto his own bed, only belatedly pulling the blanket away before it, too, gets into the attack range of all the blood. Infi listens, though lethargically, but he does just sit there like instructed. Or maybe slump would be a better word to describe his posture.

Arme opens his wardrobe and digs for the box he keeps the medical supplies in, in case someone comes to church to seek refuge. Unfortunately, it has happened a few too many times with weary travelers seeking shelter.

“Don't think I'm doing this for you,” he says as he sets the box down and pulls out a cloth from it.

Infi gives him one of those lopsided grins, but it doesn't quite feel natural this time. “Wouldn't dream of it,” the demon replies, closing his eyes when Arme starts wiping some of the blood away. He cringes internally at the sight of the wound, going clean through Infi’s side. He's no spring chicken, knows a sword wound from a mile away. Now just how did the demon come into the possession of one?

“Are you going to say what has happened or are we going to sit here with just the owls?”

“There was a demon…” Infi winces in pain and it almost makes Arme want to be gentler. Almost.

“There's always a demon. There's always you,” he scoffs and grabs the bottle of alcohol to pour onto another rag. “Hold still.”

Not even such a command makes Infi stay in place once he wipes the wound again, smearing the alcohol over it to clean it. He cries out, somehow tugging at both Arme’s heart and nerves.

“I told you to stay still.”

“It hurts,” Infi whines, his fingers gripping the bed sheets with a degree of desperation. He's ruining them in the process.

“It's supposed to hurt,” Arme tells him flatly. He pulls the rag away sooner than he probably should have. The bandages roll on easily, again thanks to Infi’s surprising slimness. “I hope you don’t think we still have a deal, demon.”

Infi goes rigid, even more so than he had when the alcohol had stung his raw flesh. “What… do you mean?”

“The promise was that you'd not touch a single person other than me.”

“But I hadn't!” There's an edge to Infi’s voice that Arme had never heard before, a color of desperation, or fear, maybe. Or maybe Arme is imagining it in his tired state.

“Seven people had gone missing and you dare tell me you're not to blame?!”

Arme ties the bandage tighter than he probably should have, but by the Goddess’ name is Infi’s wince satisfying. One of the demon's hands comes flying up to grip at his arm and he looks at Arme, opening his mouth and closing it again. He wets his lips with a quick dart of the tongue.

He looks like a kicked puppy more than anything right now.

“It wasn't me,” Infi forces out, like a kid begging his parent to believe them when they've done something wrong. And the worst part of it? Is that Arme wants to believe him.

“Who was it then? The people didn't just pack up and leave!”

“I ran into a demon today, I told you,” Infi says, his brows making a dance on his forehead, not sure whether to land in a scowl or not. “He was eating someone.”

Arme sucks in a sharp breath. “Who?” he asks, a lot flatter than he feels.

“A woman. Green hair, but I can't tell you anymore. The body was… messed up.”

Arme freezes for a split second. He knows that woman — knew the woman. She came in sporadically, and now she never would again.

“And why should I believe you?”

Frankly, he didn't want to believe Infi. He wants the demon to be lying, just so he wouldn't have to face the premise of some stronger being on the prowl in his village.

“You don't have to. You don't have any reason to believe me,” Infi tells him, head hung and hand falling back onto the mattress. “I tried to fight him, fuck I swear I did. I wasn't strong enough without energy.”

Arme busies himself with putting the box away to its hidden place so he wouldn't have to look at Infi. So Infi wouldn't look at him.

He wants to believe the demon, maybe just as much as he wants him to be lying. Maybe a little more. Maybe. He debates at length inside his own head, staring at the wooden wardrobe for longer than any sane person should.

It takes him painful minutes to come to a conclusion, and even then, he has no idea if it's the right one. He twists towards Infi and stares him down.

“If I believe you, will people stop disappearing?” he asks straight, folding his arms. He wants to hear a yes, wants to believe this Goddess forsaken demon for some reason. Infi hadn't lied to him yet. Yet.

“I…” Infi pauses here, obviously milling each word through his mind before he lets it out. “I'll definitely get rid of him for you. I promise. I swear.”

And it's enough. It's enough to make Arme’s shoulders slump and tension leave at least a bit with the next exhale. He stays where he is, though, unsure what to do now.

“I'll have your head if not.” The threat isn't backed up by anything, can't be backed up by anything from him, but thinking back to Ms Devanam and her look, he knows he would find a way to get rid of this demon if it was the last thing he'd ever do.

“I'll get him when I have energy and my powers back,” Infi assures him, and then promptly says and almost falls sideways. Probably woozy from all the bloodloss, Arme rationalizes.

“What now? How do you regain your powers?” is Arme's first question. He's aggravated, tapping his foot against the floor.

Infi gives him a look, lips pulling up at the corners just the barest amount. Then he says, almost meekly, “I came to get my meal tonight.”

Arme frowns, looking him up and down as if appraising him. Infi worries for a second, wondering whether Arme will deny him tonight. He'd have to find someone else or suffer for a month longer with no energy. And he has promised to go touch anyone in the village and going over to the nearest one is a day's journey away…

And then Arme drops to a kneel before him.

He'd never met another creature, human or not, able to sink to its knees and still regard him like he was a worthless piece of gravel, but Arme managed it.

He didn’t think the redhead would make his invasion a common appearance, but by the fifth ‘visit’, Add had started to expect his presence instead of screeching and hissing at the brat’s interruption. Not that it was better, since it meant welcoming him into his relaxing lab. Persistence was always something the scientist hated from Elsword, and now he caved into it.

“I have a name you know,” Elsword huffed.  “Guess what?  I brought you food!”  

He shoved a platter of sandwiches at Add before the Mastermind could quip back.  The lettuce stuck out with water dripping onto the plate, making the toasted bread soggy.  When Add took a bite, he was surprised to see the redhead remembered to add mustard this time.  Maybe the brat was useful for something after all.  

“How long are you going to keep up with this?” Add asked.

“When you remember to feed yourself,” Elsword made himself comfortable in a spinning chair, ignoring Add’s frown of spreading himself over the scientist’s workspace.

“Who are you, my mother?”  Add scoffed, “You’re starting to sound like the elf.” 

“Guess that’s saying something then, huh?” He huffed, his face souring from Add’s unappreciative reply. “And I’ll have you know that unlike Rena, I appreciate the taste of delicious meat!” He scorned, “Our ideologies on determining what’s edible or not makes me completely different than her!”

If it was one thing Elsword was serious about, it was anything involving his stomach. The very fact that they had yet another lecture relating to food proved it. Add leaned back, tuning out a passionate speech on how meat changed everything in sandwiches, and that the mixture of vegetables and meat were the ultimate combination.

“Right, I get it,” he quickly surrendered, as if he was putting a fight over the subject. “Want some hot chocolate?”

Elsword went starry-eyed at getting a free drink.

A chuckle escaped from Add’s lips, cheeks dusted pink when he caught Elsword smiling at the obnoxious sound.  That was the strange thing about the Rune Slayer.  He waited for the brat to make comments about how different he acted - the way he talked, his obsession with nasods, or how he conserved chocolate like bars of gold, but Elsword never questioned it.  

He wondered if the younger teen held hidden motives.  What kind of idiot recruited a stranger after witnessing ambush attempts on one of their teammates on more than one occasion?  All it took was a heroic act to convince Elsword and all was good?  Add scoffed, the brat must be very forgiving or very stupid.  

“You’re early today,” Add poured the cocoa powder into two mugs.  A purple kettle stationed in the corner of the lab was boiling water.  He forced himself to ignore the stares Elsword was giving him, knowing what the redhead was thinking.  

“I finished training early with Elesis today.”  Elsword paused, “Are those cat ears?”

“It’s a gift,” he grew defensive.  It was a gift to himself, so that counted, right?   

“Cute,” Elsword grinned.       

“You always train with her.” It was hard for him to wrap his mind around the concept of having a sibling.  “Why is that?”

Elsword blinked with confusion. “Because she’s the best sister in the whole wide world?” Shocked at Add’s bewilderment to spar with his sibling, “You see…”

He regretted asking that question. The next topic the boy liked to talk about was his caring, loving, …energetic sibling. At least Add could share opinions over food.  Elsword’s speeches about Elesis were worse because he portrayed the swordswoman as something of a goddess.

“She’s always calm, she was only thirteen or something when she helped my dad out with war stuff!“

Admittedly, her achievements were rather impressive. Physically adept and a seemingly brilliant tactician at a young age, managing to secure victory after victory. Assuming Elsword hadn’t blown half of her stories out of proportion, Add would’ve considered her someone that had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

She sounded dangerous… almost too dangerous for him to really interact. There was no telling if she saw through Add’s tiny scheme with Eve, and though the red siblings were meatheads, Add was sure she’d had a much larger suspicion toward him. Luckily,  the stories were exaggerated. She was less of a threat than how Elsword made her to be.

Though, he was curious on why the boy placed herself on a high pedestal. Why do that?  Wouldn’t it be better to downplay her actions and brag about  the  missions he completed successfully?Less people would look down on him if he shined himself than glass trapping the trophy.

“And of course, your father didn’t receive any credits for what she did?” Add blurted out, “Sure, your sister sounds… elegant, but your father was the one that helped make her. He should be praised too.”

Elsword blinked at the mention of his father.  Not many people asked about him because  it wasn’t uncommon for children to lose parents to war and natural disasters caused by the El.  People saw him as the knight to serve people, rarely as a child who still had to stand on his tiptoes to reach the highest shelves in the kitchen.  Why was Add the first one to notice?   

He shrugged, “She was noticed as a prodigy.”

“Because that’s what people love, a miracle child to make up for adults’ incompetence.” Add said with bitterness.      

“They remember her because she was young,” Elsword stressed. “That was the third time I saw his face.  He may have a name in the army, but he was a poor father.”  

The nights he spent in a house too big for one child still haunted him when he was left to his own thoughts.  As he grew old enough to start a journey with friends, he was no longer alone, but the dreaded thought that  their journey would one day end left him feeling cold again.  There were only so many places to visit before they ran out of places to travel to.  He wondered if Add would leave him like his father did when he saw no reason to stick around.

“My father was not a kind man either,” Add said with an unreadable expression.  “He was an ass, but maybe he was trying to save us.”

Elsword was shocked to hear those words.  It was the first time he heard Add mention his family at all.  Maybe that was the appeal in talking to the scientist.  His past was a mystery and it was hard to read his intentions  with his sarcastic comments and the gleam in his eyes as if he was on to an inside joke only he understood.    

Add returned with two mugs of hot chocolate and handed one to him.  He took a sip of hot chocolate and flinched at his bad decision to drink it too early.

“I’ll give you an example, since the strawberry shortcake probably won’t understand,” Add panted out, pushing his cat mug away in reaction to having his tongue burned. “Take this… hot chocolate. It’s sweet, full of sugar, but also murky. And hot. Very… very hot.”

He wiped his eyes, tears unfortunately starting to form around them as a result of his roasted tastebuds. “It hurts… but. It’s sweet. And it’s probably worth dying for to stick your tongue in.”

“Are you sure you’re talking about your old man, or about your tongue?” Elsword deadpanned.  “Strawberry shortcake?  Really?” He was not that short, thank you very much!   

“He spent years carving my mind into what he thought was best for me,” he stuck out his burned tongue.  “Both my parents were nasod researchers, so it was natural for them to expect the same for me.  You see these eyes?  That’s his work. I was his legacy.”

“Was,” Elsword recognized the past tense and understood.  Like many of them in the group, Add was an orphan too.  

The scientist smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.  It was forced and controlled, like his voice, “All children are legacies of their parents.  Whether you like it or not, we’re shaped by them. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have lasted this long. My mother played a part of why I’m here.”  

Elsword couldn’t pretend to understand what Add meant by any of that.  He wasn’t a genius like Add or a nasod with a storage of information like Eve.  He wanted to know what Add was saying because he wanted to be a good friend, but he also wanted to understand the scientist.  Add was the last of them to be open about his past.  He didn’t want to mess this up and scare him away.  

“You said he wasn’t a nice man,” Elsword looked down at his hot chocolate and blowed on it before taking a small sip.

Add looked away, “He wasn’t a forgiving teacher as Mother was.  Sometimes, he destroyed my work because he expected more.”      

The Rune slayer’s eyes widened. “Wha-?!” Destroying people’s work? Was that really something that a mentor would do? He understood his sister might’ve been more lax with him, but he’d never imagine any good tutor would destroy something they worked so hard on. It was like wasting cake after having it was baked and decorated.

“What kind of cake gets thrown on the floor just because they expected something more chocolate-y?!” Elsword gasped.

“...What?”

“He wasn’t a good baker!  I mean- good mentor! He shouldn’t trash your stuff!” As Elsword slammed his fist on the desk, Add nervously recoiled.

“In other words…” The Mastermind meekly said, fidgeting at his clothes and leering over at the boy. “You think he’s an awful person…?”

“More than awful!”

Well, he couldn’t deny his father didn’t treat him as nicely, but…

“I mean, he was harsh, but he thought I could do better,” Add’s face grew warm when he noticed how livid the Rune Slayer was.  This wasn’t Elsword problem, why did it bother him so much?  “He might have said cruel things, but I became a better inventor because of him.”   

“That’s not how you teach someone how to be better,” Elsword crossed his arms.  “That’s not what family is.”

“Is family throwing your children into a war you started?”

Elsword sighed when he scooted closer to reach his hand over to ruffle the scientist’s hair.  His insides churned when Add flinched at the sudden human contact and pulled away with an apologetic look.  He was no expert on parenting, especially him of all people being an orphan and all, but that could not be a good sign.  The way Add took the effort to cover most of his body left much to be suspicious.  What was under there?  Nasod limbs like Raven?  Strange markings like Ain?  Scars and bruises?        

The knight grew uncomfortable on the last thought.  Add didn’t mention physical abuse, but he couldn’t help but wonder what else the other was hiding.  There had to be more to the story for Add to show aggression when coming into contact with chains or the mention of slaves (Thanks to Lu, who learned the hard way when Add verbally lashed out at her.).  

“You’re judging me,” Add said.  “You’re thinking it’s the bastard’s fault for making me like this.”

“You said it yourself,” Elsword pointed out.  “Our parents shape us.  Your father could have killed you for the sake of protecting the family legacy.”

“No he won’t,” Add said with pride.  “I was useful for him in one thing: becoming a human weapon.”

A chill shot up Elsword’s spine.

“You’re more than that,” he tried to keep himself calm.  What kind of monster was this man to view his child as nothing more than a weapon?  This was the kind of story he expected hundreds of years ago from the history books Aisha loved to read.    

“More than that…?” he cocked his head at the redhead, a fluttering astonishment appearing in Add’s magenta eyes. His father’s eyes.

Now he seemed a bit more interested in talking. Elsword knew that look. Though the boy knew he had his moments where he rambled on things Add might not have been interested in, Add had those times too. Maybe a lot more than him. Considering the topic they’ve landed themselves in however, he wasn’t sure how Add would lecture Elsword on this.

“You believe I’m worth more than that… truly a fascinating idea to think.” before Elsword could try and change discussion, Add slammed down his mug, startling and silencing him. The scientist narrowed his eyes, his smile forming an expression of bemusement.

“Kek. Do you think a single human is worth that much, Elbrat?” The Mastermind traced his finger on the rim of his mug. “Even if I was the last heir of this family, humans are all the same anyways. I wasn’t someone that could prevent a whole race of humans from being extinct, because I was not the last one. I didn’t need to survive for the whole species to continue living. Statistically speaking,” he closed his eyes. “I’m not special. I don’t have any rare abilities. I was born physically average. My knowledge and high understanding comes from strict teaching, who I’m sure many other people have gone through. I was not the first, nor was I the last.”

“In addition, I was highly isolated. I only knew Mother and Father. They were not only family, but friends. People I live in, and people that I must adapt to. If I won’t adapt, how could he value my existence as something more than being parasitic?”

Positioning his head to face downwards, he hummed. “Finally, my parents could bear another child. Had I died, I would easily have been replaced.” And his father could’ve easily framed it as the death being accidental. “... To conclude, I had no real worth at the very start.” He grinned, shrugging with his arms and staring at the boy with tired eyes. “That’s-”

“That’s stupid,” Elsword frowned.  “Maybe that’s how it worked when you lived with them, but you’re important to me.”

He flustered when he realized what he had just said.  It sounded better in his head, was that too much?  But it was true, he didn’t want anyone to replace Add.  It was a selfish thought because he already had his sister and his friends, but having one friend less gave him more anxiety than he thought was reasonable.   

“So what if you’re only a small part of all humans,” Elsword gritted his teeth.  He wanted to go back in time and punch the man that made his friend like this.  His rage peered through when fire sparked out from his fingertips and flared up.  “If there weren’t little people like us, then what will become of humanity?  I don’t want you to go.”  

“You’re really strange, red bean.” Add said, although his eyes betrayed him and looked like they were going to water.  

Despite pushing the brat away more than once, he still came back.  All that effort to talk to someone like him, who lacked the charisma Elsword had to draw people in, or Raven’s swordsman skill.  They shared nothing in common, but the redhead still talked to him.  Was this what having a friend was like?  

Friends.  It was something that bothered him when he was younger and he watched the village children play from a distance, but couldn’t join them because of his circumstances.  He thought he didn’t need it when was an adult, but now he craved it.  That wasn’t fair.

“I’m strange? You’re in no position to say that, ya know,” the boy playfully chuckled. “And I’m not small bean, damn it.” “Kek. Right. Sure.” Breathing in a sigh, Add lifted his mug, nipping for the taste of slightly cooled hot chocolate with his burned tongue.

“I mean, you have flying plates and you talk to your box-”

“Apocalypse is a weapon, not a box.” Add was offended.    

“It tried to bite me the other day,” Elsword complained.  It went after him when he found it lying in another box.  The cat cube hissed at him and snarled when he tried to move it from its resting spot.  

Add snorted, “You were probably bothering it.”

When Add stretched his legs, he was surprised to discover how stiff they were.  How long were they talking for him to feel like this?  If Elsword wouldn’t let him talk about himself like that, then what did the redhead want?  

“Do you hate your father?” Add asked.          

“It’s not hate,” Elsword said.  “It’s disappointment, I think.  He always wrote letters, but Elesis missed him and I didn’t like him for making her cry when he left too early for any of us to catch him.”

“For the war, right?” Add rubbed his chin, “What if he didn’t leave?  Would you be happier?  Wouldn’t the war reach to your cute little village if he didn’t help them?”  

Truthfully, that thought never occurred to him  until Add mentioned it. He knew that as a soldier, his father had to excuse his duties as a parent in order to protect Velder, but he wished he’d at least spend a vacation every once in awhile to visit him. To make him and his sibling feel a little more important than some stupid battle.

“Ah… maybe he was trying to defend Velder for your own benefit. I don’t really know how the war really went, but,” he took a large gulp of his drink. “A knight has to be paid, no? He might’ve also been working to prevent you cupcakes from starving yourselves.” “Well…”

“And all of us eventually go through a time where we have very little to depend on, if at all. Maybe he wanted to strengthen you by getting used to it.” He added on.

“And look how that turned out.” Elsword motioned his arms towards Add like he was a finished painting. “Clearly something to be admired.” he scoffed sarcastically. Add’s leer deepened at that, but a smile appeared on his cheeks. “Kek. Indeed. I’m a beautiful, intelligent man.” The scientist stated, gesturing at himself pridefully. “Look at my face. It’s truly a masterpiece. Unlike a certain poptart.”

“Hey, taste over aesthetics. I’ll have you know I’m incredibly delicious, unlike bitter coffee.”

Add lost his composure and bursted out laughing, hugging his stomach and clinging to his seat to duck his head under his arms.  What an interesting person to talk to, he covered his mouth, but kept cackling like a madman.  He laughed when he saw Elsword’s confusion, a rare smile spread across his features.  

“I’ll let you know that black coffee is an acquired taste,” he said with happiness.  

“Just like you,” Elsword mumbled.

“What?”

“Nothing,” the redhead said innocently.  “You said you didn’t have worth, but why does your dad bother with you then?”

For once, Add had nothing to answer back.  Why did Father bother with him?  The way Elsword said it made the contradiction more apparent and it bothered him.  He couldn’t be both: having no worth, but claim Father cared.  Or maybe Asker pitied him and that’s why he pressured him?  Were these facts or assumptions he latched onto in hopes that maybe he was needed by someone?

“It’s okay if you don’t know,” Elsword said.  “I don’t know why my dad did what he had to do either.  I guess it’s hard to know when our dads are dead.”   

Staring at the scientist, the Rune Slayer slowly approached him with a gloved hand, fingers trailing to rub Add’s head in a messy manner.  Add froze when he felt Elsword’s fingers ran through his locks, surprised how light his touches were, careful not to tangle his hair.  There was hesitancy in letting himself be touched, but he made a sound of agreement for the sake of a response.  

“Are we going to have a soul searching conversation every time you break in?”

“Only when you stop naming me after pastries,” Elsword joked.  

“An expensive price,” the Mastermind snarked. Elsword didn’t need Add to shake his head in disagreement, already rolling with the conclusion that the scientist would rather keep the nicknames. He gulped down the rest of his free drink, setting it down and pushing it to Mastermind to later clean.

“I’m done now.” Elsword concluded with a peaceful exhale. “Thanks for the hot chocolate. Hope you enjoyed the sandwiches.”

He took another gulp of his drink. Was that really all? Had time passed by so quickly while they were interacting? It felt so short, yet Add had a feeling something at least an hour or so had already passed.

“Right. Get the hell out of my lab, you brat.”

Oddly enough, there was a feeling of dread on Elsword’s announced departure. It was hard to concentrate when he heard the boy’s shoes clanking on his floors, with each step becoming softer.

“Wait.” Add uttered and  the steps stopped. Add froze, realizing Elsword had heard his voice loud and clear.

“What?”

Add stared down at his screen in panic. He couldn’t say that he just wanted him to stop the noisy taps on the floor, could he?

“Hm. You see, I actually…” He must look for an excuse. His eyes shift over from the empty mugs in search for something. “I actually need… something.” he spotted an object that was near his lab. “Need… an object. For science.”

“So like… you want me to get it with you?” Elsword questioned.

Add opened his mouth, but the redhead already answer for him. “Yeah, sure! We can do it soon. Maybe in a few days. How about the next lab visit? You’re always in here anyways.”

Elsword ran back to him, arms wrapping themselves to hug Add from behind, tiptoeing to place his chin on Add’s soft hair.

“Awww!~ You care!” the redhead laughed.

Add wondered if he could take back those words, but it was too late.

“I-... Don’t… don’t misunderstand.” he closed his eyes and  pulled his head down. “I was just interested in seeing how you fight.”

That was a lie even Elsword could see through, because the boy cackled harder, entertained by Add’s denial. “Yeah, yeah, sure! Thanks for the date!”

“Wait- Date? Elbrat-” he moved to  correct the boy, but Elsword was already running back out.

Though it feels a little switched to have Esper lead him around the Velder square this time, hand gripping Infi’s in an almost possessive hold as he shows Infi shop after shop, always stopping in front of the windows to peer inside.

It’s no surprise that whenever Esper spots anything cat-themed, he has to go in and get it. It’s not like he can’t afford it. Not even an hour into their outing and Esper has a bag chock-full; he couldn’t pass up the cute cat-face hairbands when his hair had been getting long enough to put in a tiny ponytail; neither could he say no to the hand-painted shirts; and Infi couldn’t not buy him that big-ass cat plushie that doubled as a pillow, not when Esper’s eyes quite literally lit up when he saw it.

A few thousand ED to see Esper glowing, the widest smile adorning his face? That’s a deal Infi would agree to even at three in the morning, sleep-deprived and on the verge of passing out.

He’s still stuck in his little reverie when Esper grasps his hand, fingers squeezing as he drags Infi through the cobblestoned square. “I’ve never shown you my favorite cafe,” Esper says, a little giddy and a little breathless, and Infi doesn’t have it in him to remind Esper that out of the two of them, only one likes anything related to coffee, and his name sure as hell doesn’t start with an ‘E’. He’s losing a battle with a smile occupying his face, anyway.

He cafe turns out to be tucked away in one of the many alleys branching from the main square, and it’d be easy missable, if not for the — admittedly — cute banner protruding from the wall, a cheery yellow against the wooden structure.

There’s a bell that chimes overhead as they enter and as soon as the door closes after them, they’re engulfed in the tranquil atmosphere of the place. Dark wooden tables are set up with floral tablecloths, far enough apart that the three people scattered in the corners wouldn’t even eavesdrop on them. Probably.

Infi can see why it’s Esper’s favorite; with the light walls and pastel curtains letting in the natural sunlight, it seems to be the perfect place to sit down and think for a while.

Esper chooses a table for them while Infi is busy admiring the colorful decor. He chooses the one directly by the large window, overlooking the other side of the street.

“Do you sit here?” Infi asks, reclining on the chair, “When you come here by yourself, I mean.”

Esper nods, peering out the window. “I like this spot, it’s pretty.”

Infi bites back a remark — ‘not as pretty as you, hah!’ — and follows Esper’s line of sight to the outside. For some reason he’s not surprised to see a garden; a field of grass beneath a tall tree, no road in sight. The breeze is toying with the leaves, casting moving shadows and glittering spots of light onto the luck greenery. Daffodils sprout in the endless grass, thousands and thousands yellow spots scattered all over. They look soft and almost beckon to be laid in while swaying to and fro to the whims of the wind.

Infi doesn’t usually pay attention to such things — and how could he, when it usually doesn’t matter what’s around them as long as it’s not toxic or actively trying to eat them whole.

“Hey,” he says, tearing his eyes away from the spring display to find Esper’s gaze trained on him and him alone. Infi swallows, choking up a little as he looks at Esper, really looks at him for a second, frozen in the swaying sunlight that makes his eyes positively shine. He doesn’t look like a fierce warrior capable of tearing time and space itself at that moment; he looks like everything bright in Infi’s life at that one single point, pink cheeks and sharp teeth and all.

He feels compelled to lean over and kiss those plush lips, so he does, catching Esper off guard, if the little squeak he gasps out is anything to go by. Esper’s face colors an adorable shade of pink and Infi grins like a madman when he pulls away.

“Thanks you for showing me this place,” he says, leaning on his forearms. His face is set in a really sappy expression, probably. Esper squirms in his seat, averting his face; Infi can see the whites of his eyes turning dark. It’s so endearing to see Esper losing his composure over something so small.

The time traveler is saved further embarrassment when the server comes over to their table, fidgeting with her hands as she side eyes Infi, obviously favoring Esper’s side of the table.

“Hello, what can I get you?” she asks, tapping the tip of her pen against a notepad. She’s wearing a dark parron over a pastel green dress, a combination that both fits into and stands out in the cafe at the same time.

“Uh, I don’t know, I don’t really like uh—” Infi starts, but Esper pipes up to shut him up, chuckling.

“I’ll order for you,” he offers, and who is Infi to argue when the menu has five entire pages of coffee specialty bullshit he doesn’t understand a word of. Esper motions the server to lean down and she does so he can whisper something to her and she  nods, scribbling onto her notepad so she doesn’t forget the order. Esper flashes her a jagged grin that makes her recoil, but she goes to the back room to get their… whatever Esper ordered them.

“She seemed nervous,” Infi remarks, staring at the door that she disappeared behind.

“You’re well-known, dont’ you know?”

“But why would she be so nervous? Of me?”

“Rumors fly between people. I bet people heard you took in the dark El, and those who don’t know you don’t know you’re… yeah,” Esper trails off.

“I’m?...”

“Y’know… nice and sweet,” Esper mumbles, looking anywhere but at Infi.

Infi grins. “Aw, you just called me sweet!” her taunts, without any malice.

Esper’s face turns about ten shades more red. It’s really endearing, if Infi does say so himself.

“Shut up,” the time traveler grumbles. He’s positively pouting.

Infi can't get enough of his cute face, especially not now, but alas, his attention is pulled by the server that returns with a tray, carefully setting their order in front of them.

Infi gawks at the cute slice of cake she places before him, alongside a small tea kettle and a porcelain cup. The cake is pink, with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on top, and what appears to be vanilla cream in the middle. Esper had ordered himself a big black coffee, though Infi knows so little about coffee that it must have a four-word title that would give him a headache to even try and pronounce.

There’s also a cone of pistachio ice cream — that he can name, thank you very much! — complete with a small metallic holder to keep it up.

“Thanks,” he mumbles to the server and at least this time she doesn’t recoil from him.

Esper takes a sip of the coffee, ignoring that its still piping hot. Infi watches him do it with a mi of bewilderment and aversion, pouring himself the tea to cool down like a normal person. It smells amazing, but the only thing he can discern among it is apples.

“What’d you even order us?” he asks, lifting a fork to the cake to try it, “What is it?”

“She calls it a ‘piece of heaven’,” Esper laughs, “but I think it’s just a strawberry cake.”

Esper takes his cone from its little holder and licks a stripe of the green thing, licking his lips at the taste. Infi is dazzled by the bit at the corner of his mouth that he doesn’t get, eyes glued to the smile on those eact lips.

“Want some?” Esper asks, holding the cone out for him.

“Sure!” Infi says, excitement creeping into his voice. Instead of going for the cone, however he leans over and licks the spot off Esper’s lip with no hesitation.

Esper squeaks again, almost dropping the ice cream. His face is on fire when Infi pulls back, flashing a toothy grin. “Tastes great!” he exclaims, “But that might’ve just been you, so…”

Esper punches him in the upper arm with his free hand, hardly enough to hurt. “You’re an idiot.”

“Aww, but you liked it! Don’t even deny it, your cheeks look the same as my hair right now!”

Esper grumbles something under his breath, but he doesn’t actually deny it.

“I don’t mind cleaning you up when you get it on your face again,” Infi promises.

Esper steals the fork from his fingers with a swift move, grabbing a bit of the whipped cream from the cake. Before Infi can even realize it, he’s smearing it all over Infi’s lips and chin. There’s a shit-eating grin on his lips when sets the fork back down.

“Then I guess it’s only fair if I do the same, hm?”

Infi bursts into a laugh, taken aback by Esper’s quick wit once more. His heart kind of wants to get out of his chest and into Esper’s hands. But it’s already there, he supposes.

Not that they’re not taking this seriously, but it’s not like Esper is deliberately aiming to incapacitate and destroy him. If he were, Infi would be down for the count at least thrice this session.

Once when Infi swung too soon, falling into Esper’s now-obvious trap and gotten himself slammed into the ground with way too much gravitational force. Second when he made the mistake of getting too far only to lose track of the other and find him popping out of a portal above himself. And third, just now.

Esper’s rhapsody is a fierce thing — weighing his limbs down like lead, making it almost impossible to lift Conwell. It’s a good thing Esper can make it not hit them on an actual battlefield, or it would be catastrophic.

The time traveler doesn’t give him the moment to spare, though, grinning at him with those jagged teeth of his and opening a portal to hop through. Infi moves just in time, just as another opens before him, like a dark, swirling water surface breaking for Esper to emerge, hand outstretched to deliver an electric shock.

Infi slashes at him, but Esper is faster, disappearing into another one of his portals. Infi throws a dozen or so swords after him, already knowing they won’t hit him. Esper is already back where he had been, sticking out his tongue at him. Infi can’t deny being annoyed, but Esper’s antics during sparring sessions could ever only be summed up as ‘cute’.

He wants to get back at him at least once, though!

The portals linger behind, already slowly flickering out of reality, but that’s where a thought strikes Infi like a lightning bolt. He doesn’t send more swords through, but jumps right on in, poiseing Conwell for an attack.

He pops out behind Esper, feet landing on the ground heavily and Conwell raised above his head. Esper doesn’t expect this, twisting on his heel, panicked, and bringing a shield up to protect himself.

The strike never comes.

Conwell falls from Infi’s fingers, landing even heavier than Infi had, and Infi’s now-free hands come up to his mouth. They fruitlessly try to stop the onslaught of bile rushing up his esophagus, but it comes forth despite them.

Infi doubles over and empties the contents of his stomach right there, on Esper’s shoes. He coughs, getting his hair sticky with puke and saliva.

“Dude!” Esper exclaims, and while it sounds disgusted, there’s an unmistakable undertone of worry, and he squats to be level with Infi, looking at him with creased eyebrows. “What were you thinking?!”

Infi chuckles, wiping at his lips with a glove. “Didn’t expect that, sorry…”

“Dude, you just went through a portal for the first time and you’re apologizing?! Shut up!” Esper orders, slinging an arm over Infi’s shoulder. “The fight is off, we’re going back.”

Infi breathes heavily, trying at least somehow to fight Esper off, but it doesn’t work. “It’s your win, I suppose,” he mutters finally. He lets himself get guided by Esper, feet unsteady and stomach still upset.

“Of course it’s my win, you puked on my shoes.” Infi is sure Esper is rolling his eyes, even though he can’t quite lift his head up to check.

“Sorry about that…”

“Shut up,” Esper tisks. He’s very cleanly, Infi knows, so he must look pretty shitty if Esper is letting him get off the hook for dirtying his clothes.

Mercifully, Esper drags him to his lab via normal walking and not portal-express. Infi does end up puking once more, though. He keeps apologizing profusely, and each time he does, Esper just tells him to can it and keep his mouth shut.

He doesn’t even notice when they get inside, but Esper sits him on a couch, hurrying off to grab a glass of water. He practically forces it into Infi’s hands and tells him to rinse his mouth. With that done, he hands him another glass, instructing to drink.

Only then does he plop himself next to Infi, still watching him intently. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Infi sighs, a little easier now that he had drunk a little.

“I should’ve told you not to use my portals yourself,” Esper says, gnawing on his lips. “It’s incredibly taxing on the body, and it ruins you the more you get used to it.”

“Then you…?”

“Yeah, my first time ended up pretty much the same.”

Infi looks to the side, thinking back to how easy Esper had made it seem, just hopping back and forth. He used his portals for pretty much everything. Just how screwed up was his body now? Infi shudders just thinking about it.

Silence stretches between them, but then Esper clears his throat and stands up, hoving above Infi almost nervously. “You can take a shower, if you’d like. I’ll, uh, make you something to eat meanwhile. You got rid of the whole lunch, I bet…”

Infi knows Esper feels bad, can hear it in his voice, see it written all over his face, but then again, he also feels bad, so maybe it’s all good in the end, somehow. He offers a grin in hopes of calming Esper down.

“That’d be nice,” he says, rising finally and stretching his legs. A shower sounds just about heavenly right now; he needs to get rid of the puke sticking to his hair.

“The next to last door on the right,” Esper tells him, “Feel free to use any of the towels.”

Infi hums as he looks down the corridor. “Gimme your shoes, I’ll clean ‘em.”

Esper looks like he’d just said the most incredulous thing. “What? No? No! I’ll clean them later, just go take a damn shower, you stink!”

“No, come on!” Infi persists, “You’re making me food, the least I can do is clean your shoes!”

They bicker back and forth a little, but Infi knows he has him when Esper just sighs and mutters, “You really won’t let it go, huh? And I was even trying to be nice. Ugh. Here you go!” The last part is louder now, and Esper almost thrusts his shoes at him when he decompresses them and shimmies out.

Infi can only give him a grin. With this, they’ll be pretty much even. And since he’s already here, maybe he could ask Esper a little more about portals. Or about himself. Or about, hell, he doesn’t know. Something, anything.