Xavierās Apartment ā 1:02 AM
Xavier was awake, he already was when he heard the roar of a motorcycle engine cutting through the silent corridors of the night. Xavier was wide awake when he pulled back the translucent window curtains that did nothing to shield his bedroom floor from the morning light and he was awake when he watched you merrily skip out of the apartment building, white hair and red eyed man in tow.
Xavier has been losing sleep lately. At first it didnāt come as a bother, something he thought only came as a result of his countless mid-afternoon naps. He thought maybe this was normal, that him staying up late at night willing that no man show up to whisk you away was just an afterthought of what physical reason was causing his insomnia. But then his nightly visits became more frequent and Xavier couldnāt help but find himself silently watching night after night as he helped you get on his midnight motorcycle if only to whisk you away into secrecy of dusk.
The crowned prince was not none the wiser, he knew who he was, knew the crimes heād been punished for in his home planet of Philos. Heās heard stories of the fiend that reaps vengeance against corrupt officials and knows just how he has willingly spared him on the rare occasions their paths did cross.
Of course, the fiend also knows of him. He knows how the crowned prince have found himself solace and refuge in the apartment just above yours and he knows the role he plays as your partner in a job that constantly risks exposure of his sworn secrecy. Coincidence was barely an afterthought, he had more pressing matters to attend to especially after his informants told him that the crowned princeās own men were already after him.
He wouldnāt consider them anything but acquaintances but he does recognize the kindredness of their own spirits. Heās heard stories of a young girl back in Philos that occupied the princeās heart which ultimately made him turn away from his sworn princely duties. Heās never met her, of course, only having heard whispers while he sat bare inside the cell theyāve thrown him into. Besides that, Sylus has more grace and tact than people would like to admit and to use other people to get his vengeance is just not something he would stoop so lowly into. The girl merely existed as an extension of the prince and if heās being quite honest ā Sylus doesnāt have anything against him.
But Sylus is aware of the keening eyes that followed him and his person all through the night. He has been ever since he first found himself in your building, hoping to whisk you away from some unnamed task he and his own henchmen could definitely finish on their own. Heās acutely aware of how a pair of eyes gently traced your outline as you skipped to his vehicle in utter bliss and complete unawareness.
It was the same for tonight. Xavier found himself standing in front of his balcony door. It has only been a quarter of an hour before he heard the creak of the buildingās entrance and the muffled footsteps that trudged on the otherwise silent foyer.
Xavier watched briefly before you came into view and his eyes traced your entire person noting that youāre safe, youāve no injury, youāre happy and youāre willingly following the fiend into the darkness of the night.
He watched you even when Sylus followed behind you, red eyes trained on yours but once again aware of his own watchful ones that came from the balcony just above yours. Sylus smiled softly before helping you with the helmet you gently prod at his arms, fastening it tightly before giving the top a teasing knock.
Xavierās breath hitched when he saw the dark red swirls that suddenly appeared by the fiendās fingertips, his sword made of light almost materializing in his palms, before he realized he was only using it to help you get on. The princeās eyebrows furrowed before he willed his sword away and continued to watch.
There was a burning sensation clawing from underneath his chest, right where his heart should be. He feels it screaming at him, begging him to do something. He clutched his palm over it, steeling himself as he continued to watch you smile. Smile so softly at the white haired man, smile so bashfully as he whispered a quip, smiled contently when he finally walked to the other side, grabbing his own helmet to put in place.
Sylus paused momentarily to glimpse at the balcony window above yours. You were too busy settling yourself to even notice the breath of a whisper that carried itself through the wind. Xavier glanced back at him, not surprised with his direct regard of his watchful eyes. He nodded at him, an unspoken understanding shared only between the fiend and the crowned prince. And he nodded back up, a silent agreement to keep you safe from whatever lurks in the darkness of the night.
That was the first time Xavier and Sylus ever regarded each other. The crowned prince stood at his balcony window until Sylus got on the vehicle and drove you straight into the night. Only a silhouette of who once were remained at the empty streets below.
Xavier sighed, still feeling the suffocating clawing at his chest and yet he willed himself away from the balcony window, away from you, away from what shouldāve been, away from what couldāve been. He thinks to himself that this is what he deserves, that self-punishment is only befitting for those with pasts like he. The dawn is still far away and sleep would not visit the crowned prince that night, but he finds comfort in the thought of you being happy ā even if itās the arms of another.
