#vortex:closed

chris has been doing well.   low stress   --  he's only got a couple of online classes left anyways before graduation this spring,  having worked really hard to finish sooner.   after all,  not like he had many distractions   --  his family having left arcadia,  no real friends to party with…   well.   it all worked out in his favour,  seeing as he was able to take nearly 21 units at a time.   and,  with his programming gig,  his life is good.   more than,  even.   he's adulting,  just the way he should be.   so who cares if he doesn't have a Meaningful Relationship with someone  ? 

he does.   he does care.   a lot.   more than he'd like to admit,  if he's truly being honest with himself.   the last meaningful relationship he's ever had was with   --

“   --  sam  ?  ”

vanitas is tired.   exhausted,  really,  but when is that anything new  ?   this constant dull ache that hangs onto him like a virus.   it’s better than before though,  years ago,  when he could barely get out of bed,  if you could call a pile of clothes and blankets on the floor under a wooden table a bed.   he should count his blessings,  ever since leaving his grandfather’s house,  that he doesn’t have to deal with anything other than shitty,  demanding drunks who annoy him with their woes.   it’s better than shitty,  demanding grandfathers who are shitty even without a drop of liquid poison in their system.

tonight was a busy night,  at least,  busy enough that vanitas could ignore the thoughts in his head.   he had taken on two shifts,  someone else called out earlier in the day,  and well.   vanitas was getting paid for it.   not like he had anywhere to really be,  anyways,  so he had thrown himself into the mechanical routine of it all;   simply moving like his body was on autopilot as he poured drinks;   ignoring those cheating on their partners,  those trying to start arguments for fun,  those crying in the corner about their lives.

pathetic.

he doesn’t realise it’s two am until most of the patrons have left,  those still clinging on almost passed out in their chairs while the other more sociable bartends try to contact someone to pick them up.   he wipes the counter with a clean cloth,  having already kept inventory of which alcohols they’ll need to get a new stock of.

fuck,  he’s so tired;   rubbing at his eyes annoyedly,  he places the towel down when he hears a loud squeak. 

what the fuck.

he lifts it up only to see a frowning mouse looking right up at him.   they hold a staring contest for all of two seconds before the animal turns around as vanitas looks up to see an all too familiar blond.

draco rarely if ever uses his magic anymore.   he knows better than to use it,  chooses not to use it at all costs.   it’s better this way   --  the more he uses his wand,  the more it makes him miss the wizarding world.   of course,  then he hates thinking like that because what good would thinking like this do  ?

regardless,  he doesn’t know why he brought his wand today,  but he has it with him,  weighing heavy at his side.   it’s then when draco hears a struggle in an alley,  peers behind the wall to see two strangers.   it’s when one of the strangers is about to lift a guy up that draco just reacts,  not even realising his wand is in his hand,  acting on pure instinct.   he levels the wand before waving it with tiny flicks of his wrist,  “  flipendo.  ”   the man hits the back wall before looking around and running away.

blue was just intending on minding his own business,  as per usual.   while he doesn’t always bring his pokemon with him while he’s just walking around on errands in arcadia,  he should have suspected his pokemon would get a little…   stir-crazy being stuck inside their poke balls.   he’s aware he spoils them far too much,  but he can’t help it.   regardless,  he should have expected,  really,  for eevee,  of all of them,  to leave her poke ball on her own volition.   she makes a pleased noise as she looks around the wide park that blue’s been walking in.   he looks away,  just for a few moments,  knows that she can handle herself.

then again,  that’s not the best decision,  clearly,  because when blue looks back,  she’s trying to approach someone.   shit.   “  wait, eevee  !  ”   he calls out,  the pokemon not listening until eevee accidentally brushes too close to a girl,  only for her to freeze up before running back to his side,  peeking over at the stranger. 

after figuring out where he was,  after settling in properly and getting a place to stay for the night,  he really didn’t expect to nearly get robbed.   he’s using the term nearly loosely here because the odds of this robber picking him to rob  ?   listen.   listen,  it’s kinda funny.   okay,  really funny,  but still.   he’s kinda just humouring the guy, hands up,  features soft and placating.