interstellar5555 | NO FEAR [OPEN]

Who: Steven and anybody in the Defying Atmosphere penthouse.
What: Greg is rewarded with a slightly used pet child.
When: About 24 hours after the SC concert where he gets kidnapped.
Where: DA's penthouse in Virgo HQ.
Warnings: There is a laundry list of things wrong with this situation.

No matter the intention, the violence of being kidnapped leaves a mark on a person, and that's the lingering anxiety that Steven feels now. He was pulled away from his life once again, as terrible as it might have been. He was manhandled, drugged, and dragged off somewhere else, even as he pleaded, for fear of angering his keepers again.

There was a period of claustraphobic darkness followed by a time where blinding white is all he can remember. And then, suddenly, he finds himself here...a penthouse that is totally unfamiliar to him, and is told that he's going to be with his dad now.

He doesn't know if he can believe it, or what he should do. So, once he's left alone, all he does is curl himself up on one of the couches and wait. He's been dressed in fresh clothing, simple in comparison to anything he's made a habit of wearing - the flashes of pink cracklines are still bright on his exposed skin.

He has no control over anything anymore. He may as well stop pretending.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The weeks have been busy, so busy for Luce, that having a life of her own almost seems like a dream than something that truly happened. If it's not Angel, then it's one of the Virgo veterans putting her to work. When she finally does get time off...

Luce knows, in a way, that she should be taking time off to just put up her feet. Catch her breath. But it's been so long since she's talked with some of her friends. If nothing else, she thinks, she can check in on Meril and Greg. She's polite enough to knock, but someone in a hurry must not have closed it properly- it nudges open at her touch. Blinking in surprise, she opens the door more and can only stare.

It takes a quick second for her mind to realize what she's seeing, and by then she's already stepping inside with the door shut behind her. "Tiger? Is... Is that you?" It seems like Tiger, from the hair, to the general shape, but those cracks...

Tiger has mostly been chilling - he's been here long enough now that it's almost starting to feel...normal? Even kind of safe, in a way. If it weren't for the trouble his gem has been giving him, and the trouble he feels like his dad has been going through...then maybe this would be okay.

He's not expecting to see Luce, though, despite the fact that he knows she lives in Virgo HQ as well. He pushes himself up off the couch, his eyes wide and glowing.

"Luce...you..." He shrinks down again. "I almost forgot..."

"Sshh, shh, it's alright." Her brain goes on auto-pilot, making calming gestures as she moves into the room. With her best gentle tone on hand, Luce glances around. It seems a bit empty for now, but that doesn't mean it completely is or will be for long.

"Is it alright if I come sit with you, Tiger?"

He falls quiet, listening when she moves to calm him. It takes him a moment to respond, but his intimidation is at least short lived.

"Yeah," he says softly, nodding.

"Thank you, dear." Still moving slowly and keeping the same tone, Luce goes to sit besides him. Up close, his appearance is even more alien and worrying. The strange has become a little more normal in Luce's life ever since Solstice, but this is something new.

Not in a good way.

"What happened to get you like this, Steven?"

He looks away from her, falling silent for a short while. Eventually, he shakes his head a little. It's really hard to explain, with his head this messed up.

"I got in trouble, and...they tried to take out my gem, and..."

He reaches under his shirt and lays his fingers over the cracked surface.

"It got broken, and it hurt me."

It's news to her that small children have gems in their bodies, but Doctor is telepathic and Ivan can shapeshift. What else is new? She starts to reach forward and reminds herself to stop before she can touch him.

"That's horrible, Tiger... Is it alright if I touch you?"

He's quiet for a few moment, indicating some amount of hesitation. Not because he's scared of her, but because thinking about it just makes him think about what they'd done to him in the labs, which is enough to shake him to his core.

"Yeah," he manages after a few moments, though his shoulders tense.

For him, she'd let him have all the time in the world. God knows what he's been through, after all, or how he's really doing. When he gives his consent, she shifts closer and gently wraps her arms around him. Her lips press softly against his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Tiger... I wish I could have helped you. But things are just as horrible here." Saying it out loud jerks something in her heart, and Luce has to take in a deep rattling breath. Tsuna, Marty, Meril, Cloud, Haru, everyone- they've all been hurt as well. It should make her feel helpless. Whatever lies they've pressed into her skull seem desperate to say so. Yet at the same time, there's something deeper that's caught alight.

Beneath her clothes, against her sternum, the Mare Ring gleams.

"But as long as you're here... I'll try to-" help and the brainwashing grates, forcing Luce to grit her teeth and keep going. "-try to make sure you're happy, alright? I'll make sure you're comfortable, and you always have my number if you need it."

"I'm happy to be with my dad," Steven admits after a moment, leaning against her as he wraps her arm around him. "No matter what else, I...I missed him. He wants me to be happy."

And he suddenly feels sad, thinking of it. He seems so strained.

"I want him to be happy, too. He needs help..."

Greg needs help. After the things she's been through, experienced, they all need help, but Luce is starting to realize that yes... Out of all of them, Greg is one of those who especially needs it.

She squeezes him tighter. Beneath all the worry and fear, that warm feeling is starting to spread. It's like when she sang with the person in the helmet, almost. There's still so much haze, but a fire is burning through, and through, and out....

"I'll do my best, I promise," she whispers, eyes shut and oblivious to the soft warm flame that's enveloping both of them bit by bit.

NO FEAR [OPEN]

finally tags in here after days

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