#toni42

Happy Third Anniversary, Movie Mode!

A Movie Mode One-Shot by Toni42. Officially canon. Takes place immediately after chapter 72: Sweet Prince.

The hallways were quiet, only broken by the soft creak of the floorboards beneath his feet. If Isa’s way of telling what time it was in this blasted place was correct, then it should be around three in the morning now. Milo wasn’t exactly one to sleep easy; he’d often find himself waking in the middle of the night (if he’s even lucky enough to get to sleep before that), and on good nights he’ll fall asleep again within an hour. On bad nights, he doesn’t fall asleep again at all.

Tonight was, sadly, one of those nights. Not the worst one he’s ever had, as he was able to fall asleep for three hours before eventually being woken, but a bad one all the same. So it had been with a sigh that he’d given up and kicked the blankets to the end of the bed, shot an exasperated look at the sheets had slipped from the mattress corners and were crumpled in the centre of it, before clambering out of bed and venturing out into the halls.

He’d, admittedly, gotten lost. Milo had somehow found himself wandering from the bedrooms to the redstone lab to the second living room without having any idea of how he’d done so without actually leaving (at least to his knowledge) the Guest Wing. While the mansion itself was quite incredible, even Milo had to admit that it was frustratingly confusing.

So he was rather relieved when he’d run into a frantic and dishevelled Ivor, and then worried when he was informed that Jesse was missing. The boy was brave- a hero, to more than just the people of Sky City- but the Gladiator’s had injured him greatly. He’d followed Ivor to the kitchen, hoping to help find the missing hero, and had been startled to find said hero sitting at the table with Aiden, the both of them fast asleep.

Jesse had woken up, but Aiden seemed to be a much heavier sleeper than Milo was. Contrary to what some people may believe, Milo wasn’t stupid- he’d hid his secret Build Club from authorities for years, after all. He knew from the way Ivor’s worried face had faded to relief and then hardened to anger that he and Jesse were going to be talking, preferably alone.

And so Milo had scooped Aiden into his arms, who wasn’t exactly light but wasn’t all that heavy either, and carried him out the kitchen to give Ivor and Jesse some alone time. His original intention had been to take him straight to his bedroom, but then he realised he’d have to go up the stairs to the second floor, somehow navigate his way towards the second kitchen, then go down the stairs into the Guest Room, then go down another set of stairs to where Aiden’s room was. To make things worse, Milo wasn’t even sure where this room was exactly; just that it was on the same floor as his own room.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to work. Especially since his arms were already starting to hurt a little from carrying the boy.

Milo blew a breath and settled on going into the watching room. Hopefully, the couches were comfy enough to sleep on. Or maybe one of them was a pull out bed.

He turned and made his way through the archway into the watching room, stuffed with couches, the screen, the blankets and pillows piled on the floor, and a few flower pots and banners here and there. He made his way over to the largest couch- the one the ‘Order’ always occupied during watching- and laid Aiden down on it, sighing in slight relief as he shook feeling back into his arms.

Glancing around, he made his way over to one of the smaller couches and tugged at the cushions to see if perhaps they would come off to reveal a foldable bed. They didn’t budge, and all the innkeeper achieved was an unpleasant twinge in his left arm when he pulled it wrong. Grimacing, Milo massaged it, and, after a moment of consideration, decided to try the others ones- they were all different makes, after all.

He was, to his surprise, successful on the third couch, the one that rather odd trio that liked to speak as though they’re sports announcers had claimed as theirs. Milo tugged out the bed, only to get caught partway out and pull at his arms again. Grunting, the innkeeper clenched his jaw and tugged harder, and the bed folded out with an ear-injuring screech.

His gaze shifted to Aiden, afraid he’d woken him up, but the boy must be a heavier sleeper than he’d initially thought, or was completely exhausted from the day's events, for he hadn’t moved an inch. Sighing softly, Milo turned to look at the bed, pleasantly surprised to discover that, while it lacked blankets and pillows, it already had a sheet on it.

The innkeeper grabbed a custard yellow blanket from the pile clustered on the floor, then a pillow with an orange-red pattern design stitched into it. Tucking the blanket and pillow underneath his arm, Milo made his way back over to the pull out bed and sat the custard coloured material and patterned pillow on the end of it. He turned to the couch he’d laid Aiden on and crouched next to him, brushing his bangs from his forehead and frowning at the bruises that lingered on his jawline.

Milo reached out and carefully slid his arms between Aiden and the couch. The boy shifted, brow furrowing a little, but after a moment where the innkeeper held his breath, he settled back down. Biting his lip, Milo shifted Aiden into his arms as slowly as he could in an attempt to not disturb him. He rose, planting his foot on the couch to help support himself, lifting the boy and shuffling over to the newly discovered bed.

He laid the boy down again, sliding his arms out from beneath him, and grabbed the patterned pillow from the end of the bed. He slid it beneath Aiden’s head, before he dragged the blanket over and tucked it around the boy.

A smile tugged at Milo’s lips as he pulled away, regarding Aiden with a strangely warm feeling in his chest. He scooted backwards a little so that he back rested against the couch, tilting his head so that it rested on it and closing his eyes. He doubted he’d be able to actually fall asleep again, as per usual, but it’s nice to rest his eyes and at least hope he might catch a few hours of slumber.

Something pressed against his leg and Milo jumped, eyes snapping open and head turning so fast his neck cricked. Wincing, he reached up and massaged it, only to freeze when he realised the thing that was pressing against him was Aiden. The boy was practically nuzzling him.

Perhaps Milo would deny it if anyone were to ask. Perhaps, when morning came, he’d awkwardly clear his throat and they’d never speak of it again. Perhaps he’d be silent, and perhaps he’d still think about it anyway, but in that moment all Milo felt was warm in a way he couldn’t properly describe. He wondered if that’s what Ivor felt like.

The innkeeper tangled his fingers into the blaze rods hair, and in the corner, the clock ticked away their definition of night, and in the sky the sun set at a pace slower than a snail. And despite his initial thoughts, Milo closed his eyes.

This took me so long xD

A sort of fusion between Toni42 @toni4eyes and me! He’s Turquoise and I’m Pink Tourmaline. x3 

It’s kinda bad but y’know what, I did my best and I’m pretty proud of it.