Welcome to Gaia! ::

Movie nights with friends was something relatively new to Halia. Sure, she watched movies. But she had only ever had one other person come over specifically to do so. And this was Mason, so of course she was extra nervous. She had cleaned her apartment top to bottom, front ways and back, made sure nothing was lying around that could be awkward (hello pile of laundry she had been neglecting! Time to go live in the closet for now!), vacuumed, and turned on a wax warmer to make the apartment smell good.

Finishing up with putting snacks and drinks together and setting them on the coffee table, Halia anxiously awaited Mason’s arrival. She had been so much better about her nerves with him lately, though the adorable plush moth sitting on her couch made her stomach do flips when she thought about it. She felt like she might actually be losing her mind, allowing herself to actually feel things for him, but her mind yet again wandered back to when she transcended, and how she promised herself that her feelings were allowed to exist, no matter what they were.

Chewing her lip as she got lost in thought, Halia jumped as she heard a knock at the door. Quickly coming to open it, she smiled at Mason with a vibrance that could possibly even outshine the stars. “Hey!” He brought out this side of her, she noticed. This vibrant, confident, vivid side to her that she had never really known she had until now. “Come in, make yourself comfy. I have snacks and everything all set up.”

Mason also had never really done the whole ‘movies with friends’ thing, because until very recently, his only friend was his sister, and they didn’t really carve out ‘movie nights’ so to speak - they just…watched movies. But that hadn’t happened for a while - probably since he’d awoken, if he was being truly honest with himself - and anyway, this was different, because this was with Halia.

It was a strange thing, having a best friend he wasn’t biologically related to. But that was the phrase that kept coming to mind when he thought about Halia; he felt like he could tell her pretty much anything, even the stuff he didn’t want to share with Madeline. He could ask her stupid questions and be fairly confident she wouldn’t judge him or think less of him. She took him seriously, which was kind of amazing - he didn’t really take himself that seriously most of the time, and he wasn’t quite sure why Halia did so, but it felt - good. He hadn’t really realized that was something he was missing, but now that he had it, he couldn’t help but notice its lack elsewhere in his life.

“Ooh, snacks,” Mason said with a grin when she pulled the door open. “Mads tried to force me to bring this disgusting like, vegan-vegetarian-health-nut bag of snacks but I told her they smelled like cardboard and then ran away before she could force the bag into my arms,” he said with a laugh. That was another thing he liked about Halia: she believed in proper snacks. When he and Mads did watch movies, getting regular, unsalted popcorn out of his sister was a herculean task, never mind candy. (Yes, it made them both even more hyperactive than they already were, but so what, candy was good, gosh darn it!)

“So what’re we watching?” Mason asked as he shut the door behind himself and slid out of his shoes before making his way over to the new, beginning-to-get-broken-in couch. “Something about kpop? I had to look up what kpop even is, it seems like…” Mason winced overdramatically, “like, it seems like a whole thing and I don’t know anything about it. Should I have like done some required reading beforehand to understand what we’re about to get into?”

Seeing Mason always made Halia feel warm and fuzzy, even if in the pit of her stomach the reason behind it terrified her. Ever since Rowan had made her intensely aware of it, Halia couldn't overlook just how much she had fallen for the stupid, reckless, impossibly wonderful guy. And the guilt of it gnawed on her regularly. She knew that he was less than a month away from 18, so the age wasn't what bothered her. It was the fact that he was already seeing someone else.

Sinking down onto the couch beside Mason, she shook her head at his question. “Nope. Just need to know they're basically like….pop stars. My friend showed this to me recently and uh….I absolutely did some deep diving into Kpop and I absolutely have favorites now and….trust me. Don't go down that rabbit hole.” She laughed softly and bumped her shoulder against his. “I think you'll like it though. The movie I mean.”

She smiled up at him, the vibrant, glittery makeup on her face shimmering in the living room light. It was rare for her to do makeup, and rarer still for it to be anything truly noticeable. This? This seemed like something her former friend would have done. Vibrant and bold and loud like he was. It was who she pictured while doing it, at least, and she hoped it turned out at least halfway decent. “Let me know if you want me to pause it or anything okay?” Grabbing the moth plush from the corner of the couch, she carefully cuddled it as she started the movie up and settled in.



“Woah, you’re sparkly,” Mason said, with all the subtlety of a monster truck rally. “That looks awesome, did you do that yourself?” Mason was halfway tempted to ask her to do the same to him, but then he decided that Mads would get jealous that he had better makeup than she did, and it probably wasn’t worth the ridiculousness that would come from that. He shook his head at himself, refocusing. “If I’d known we were getting all dolled up, I woulda, like, I dunno, put some stuff in my hair at least. Done my nails. Never need an excuse to get glittery,” he added with a chuckle.

“Serious question,” Mason said, pulling his face into an attempt at looking like this wasn’t a joke, even though it was about to be. “Is this movie appropriate for young eyes?” Mason paused, then leaned over to ruffle the fluffy moth’s head, grin back on his face. “It’s not too scary for him, right? Or–her? What did you name it again? I would hate to misgender the lil thing.”

Her cheeks colored at his comments, but she grinned at him. “I could always put some on you if you want? I'm….still really new to it. My sister is the more makeup inclined one, but….it's fun, y'know?” Truthfully, she always thought Maya looked lovely, always beautifully put together with both hair and makeup flawlessly done. “I….think I might even have nail polish? I never really wore it when I worked at the cafe because of working with food….” She hadn't told him anything about her new job yet. Hadn't really told anyone about it. But working at the bookstore opened up a lot for her, at least with her attire.

His next question made her laugh hard, and she hugged the little moth close. “I'm not sure it has a gender. I still don't even know what to name it. All I know is it's my favorite thing that I own, though.” Mostly because Mason had picked it out, but she wasn't about to say that.

Mason’s teasing smile melted into something softer, and he gave the moth another gentle pat before he withdrew his hand. “Well, I think that’s the happiest little moth I’ve ever seen, so I think it’s safe to say the feeling’s mutual.” Mason considered the rest of what she said, looking from her to the TV and back again.

“Won’t a makeover night totally get in the way of movie night, thought?”

“Welllllll we could always do one and then the other? Though if it's just painting your nails, I could do that while you watch?” She had already watched it once with Khaz, then twice on her own. It would be her fourth time seeing the movie, so it wouldn't be like she was missing too horribly much. “Unless you'd rather just relax and watch the movie for now?” She couldn't help it as she leaned against him, always feeling comfortable enough with him to do so.

“I never mind having my nails painted,” Mason decided, because it was true; whenever Mads did her nails, she did his too, because #twinning and all. If he got in the mood on his own, he usually went with black - tried and true - but he was open to new possibilities tonight, both in terms of personal style and movies about music genres he did not understand.

“If you’re sure you don’t mind missing out on your new favorite thing,” he added with a grin as he gently bumped her shoulder with his own. “I’ll try not to dance around too much while you’re working.”

Halia laughed softly and bumped back against him in return. “You sit and watch. I'll go see what I can find.” Getting up, she made her way towards her bedroom to rummage around. She had gotten some ages ago, in various vibrant, glittery colors, and now it seemed they would finally get some use.

Once she located the stash of polish, she made her way back out to the living room and plopped down on the floor at Mason's feet, holding up the rainbow of colors. “Any preference? They uh. All have glitter too.”

Mason brightened at the array of colors, a wide grin on his face. He scooted down and put his hands on the coffee table, fingers spread so she could have full access. “Um, yes,” he said with a laugh. “I’m bi, I don’t make either/or decisions. One of everything, please.”

The response made Halia outright crack up. “God, you're a dork.” Smiling warmly, she took his hand and got to work, diligently painting each nail a different color. As the movie played, she hummed quietly along with the songs, occasionally singing some parts quietly. Golden had been the first one to emotionally gut punch her when she had seen it the first time, and she clearly was getting just a bit teary eyed this time as well.

Mason stayed as still as he could throughout the nailpainting process, but it was hard with a new catchy song coming on every five minutes. Because of who he was as a person, Mason kept up a running commentary, either talking to or about the movie as it went on, but around the two-thirds point, when the purple-haired girl and the demon boy started to have feelings for each other, he got a little quieter. By the time the movie was over, he’d barely spoken for the past thirty minutes.

“That was good,” he said softly, a sad little smile on his face. It made his heart ache, somehow; he thought of Albite, whom he hadn’t heard from in quite some time - these demons and their real-life Negaverse had some troubling overlap. Did any Knights or Senshi work in Hollywood and also have a real obsession with kpop? He let the thought filter out of his mind, and tried to bring the mood back up by putting on a wide smile that only felt a little bit fake.

“I totally get why this thing has like singalongs in real movie theaters,” he said. “Which song’s your fav–hey, what’s wrong?” Mason interrupted, eyebrows puckering in concern when he caught sight of Halia’s teary face. “Hals? You okay?”

Despite it having been the fourth time she had watched it, Halia sniffled and looked up at Mason with tears in her eyes. “They deserved so much better…. She didn't even get to properly say goodbye to him. She lost so much in her life and then had to lose him before she even really had him.” She wiped carefully at her face, not wanting to smear the makeup or get it in her eyes. “They deserved to be happy, and they didn't even get to experience that.”

Sighing, Halia moved back up onto the couch from where she had ended up settling on the floor. Leaning against him, she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ve watched it four times now since my friend showed me the movie and I've cried every time.” She lifted her head slightly to give him a tiny smile. “Golden and What It Sounds Like are my favorites by the way.”

Mason wrinkled his nose slightly; he wasn’t quite sure he felt the same - their relationship didn’t have much in the way of….y’know, relationship, in his opinion, but it was a movie and there was only so much time, but he was a demon. And more to the point, he was a jerk that sold his family out! Sure, he sacrificed himself to save her in the end, but still.

But…demons maybe didn’t mean totally evil, same way the Negaverse didn’t automatically mean evil. More than the romantic relationship, that was what had gotten Mason’s attention. It made him think of Albite, which left him a little achey in his heart.

“It’s not like they had all that much in common,” Mason said, a weak comfort as he squeezed her gently in a one-armed half-hug. “I don’t think they would’ve probably made an actually good couple, y’know? But…at least he got to do one good thing. Right? He saved her. If he loved her for real, then…that’s probably all he wanted or needed, I think. ‘Cause love’s about what’s best for the other person, not what you want, and if he had lived while she didn’t, he would’ve–how do you forgive yourself?” Mason sighed softly. “If he had a soul, or a heart, or whatever you want to call it, he would–he would never have forgiven himself if he could’ve done something to save her and he didn’t. That was the only thing he could do. Best thing he could hope to do, ever, and he did it. Not much better that anyone could hope for.”

Mason paused, then gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry, that probably wasn’t the cheer-up, feel-better analysis you were lookin’ for, huh?”

“No, no, I see where you're coming from. But it's still sad.” She shrugged and leaned into him more. Something about his tone nudged at the back of her brain, however, and she tugged at his sleeve lightly.

“Everything okay, Mason? That was…..surprisingly serious.” She had a few ideas of what might be bothering him, but she didn't want to guess and be wrong

“Just…” Mason sighed, pursing his lips slightly. “Maybe they were meant to be together, maybe they weren’t. Maybe if he’d lived they would’ve dated for six months and then she would’ve realized he sleeps with his socks on or chews with his mouth open or…” Mason sighed again.

“How do you really know? When someone’s like, really meant to be? Or even…how do you know when someone’s a good person when they’ve aligned themselves with bad people?”

His questions made her fall silent and she sat up properly as she thought. “I think….I think a lot of it comes down to faith and trust in the other person. And…..sometimes people are better off as friends. But….I feel like if it's really meant to be, you probably wouldn't be questioning if it was?”

Her hand moved to rest on his arm, squeezing with gentle reassurance. “What's going on in that head of yours, Mase? You know you can talk to me about anything right?”

He couldn’t tell her everything - she’d just say the same thing they all did, that the Negaverse wasn’t to be trusted, at all, ever, end of story. And maybe they were all right to say so. Maybe he was the stupid one and maybe he’d get bitten over his trust. But he didn’t think he was being naive; he was trying to make a better world than the one he’d walked into with all this magic. He was pretty sure that was the only way anything would ever change.

Mason glanced at Halia. “Are you telling me I should break up with K–with the person I’m dating because I’m not sure if they’re the one I’m meant to be with? I’ve only–it hasn’t even been that long and it’s not like I’ve been such a standup boyfriend this whole time either. But what if I try harder and it works out and he is the one? What if it’s my fault that it feels like it’s not, because I haven’t been doing my best, or hardly anything, because–because like, the whole magic powers thing takes up a lot of time, not to mention college? But like, aren’t those just excuses, and if I really cared, wouldn’t I just do better?”

At some point, he had gotten up. He wasn’t quite sure when, but suddenly he was pacing around the apartment, getting more and more heated, more and more frustrated - with himself. This couldn’t be his best, because it was terrible - he was a terrible boyfriend, he knew it, and if he wanted to be better, which he did, then why wasn’t?

It must be some deep personal failing of his own entire self. That was the only possible solution - and that meant the kindest thing for him to do was break up with Khaz before he hurt him any worse than he (probably) already had.

Halia's eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “That's not what I'm saying at all, Mase!” Her heart broken for him as he got more agitated, hating that she wasn't able to ease the situation. “Mason, that isn't how this works. ‘If I really cared I'd just do better’?? How is that reasonable?” She frowned and stood, walking over to gently take his hands. “You haven't, to my knowledge, done anything wrong.”

Squeezing his hands, she gave him a gentle, almost sad smile. “I was just thinking that you told me before that he was flighty about being with you in public and wouldn't even hold your hand. And it just….made me wonder if you were actually happy. If you were happy in the relationship, or just happy with the idea of the relationship. And…..for what it's worth, any relationship takes work from both sides. Be it a romantic relationship, a friendship, whatever. They take work and effort from both parties, Mason. It isn't just on you.”

Mason - wanted to be happy. He wanted to have all the firsts he'd been fantasizing about for as long as he could remember: first real date, first real kiss, first fight, first sleepover, first…everything.

Instead, he was left - like this. He could barely let himself think of Khaz, because it got him so worked up, and it wasn't like he could just talk to Khaz about it! They barely saw each other as it was, Mason didn't want to use what time they managed for each other for what could very easily turn into a fight. But he also, just -

He couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't right. Whether it was him or Khaz or both, or just the timing, or something else entirely, he didn't know. What he did know was that feeling like this - it hadn't been on his bingo card for how his first relationship would go. It was supposed to be - better than this, right?

“They're not out,” Mason finally said, letting out a heavy sigh. “I can't hold it against them - that's not right or fair. And I've been so busy with Knight stuff and then college stuff on top of that, it's just like…” Mason ran a hand through his hair and looked away, jaw working a little as he tried to sort through the mess of his own mind.

“Maybe it's just - maybe I have to choose. Between magic stuff and romantic stuff. I guess there are people who have whole families and stuff, but I think most of them are when both or all the people involved are magic too. How can you ever find the right time for that conversation when you barely even see–”

Mason broke off with another frustrated groan. “Maybe I'll just, I dunno, move to the South Pole and hang out with the penguins there. There's probably some Negaverse activity there, right? At least till I hit like 25 and my decision-making part of my brain is fully formed?” Mason flopped back on the couch and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

God, he was exhausted.

“It's just…it's just not what I thought it would be. My whole life feels like that right now, actually…”

Halia gently squeezed his hands again. “It's manageable, but I can't assume it's easy. One of my cousins is a knight, but his wife isn't magical at all. That being said, she definitely knows about the magical aspect of his life. But you don't have to choose between being a knight and being happy. I promise. But….them not being out about being queer, and you not being out to them about being a knight, that's a whole lot going on just right there. The stress of it isn't fair to either of you, I don't think.” She couldn't imagine what it would feel like, having been surrounded from the start with people who knew both sides of her, but she knew it had to be miserable.

“While I don't know anything about relationships, I do know that you deserve to be happy, Mason. More than anything, I want you to be happy.”

Mason blinked, his eyebrows raising slightly. He - hadn't thought of it that way. That the whole Knight thing was another kind of out/not out. Wildly different contexts, but arguably just as important when it came to sharing information.

“Thanks,” Mason said tiredly, squeezing her hands gently. “Will you support my South Pole trek? I think the penguins and I will get on famously.” Mason paused. “Actually, strike that, I'm suddenly remembering March of the Penguins. My sister and I thought we'd have a penguinathon and watch that right after Happy Feet. Hooboy, lemme tell you, nobody was happy by the end. I think we both cried pretty much the rest of the night.” Mason shuddered overdramatically, then shook his head and gave Halia a tired smile

“Thanks for listening to my insane rambling, as always, Hals. It's–really. Thank you.”

“I'd miss you if you left….” The words were spoken softly, sounding far more melancholy than she had wanted. But truthfully, the idea of Mason not being there? It made her heart ache in a way that she couldn't pretend didn't exist.

As he mentioned March of the Penguins, her nose scrunched. “Thankfully I never watched it. I already knew what it was from hearing people talk about it when Maya tried to get me to watch it.”

Smiling warmly up at him, she nodded. “Anytime. I mean it. And….I meant what I said. More than anything, I want you to be happy, Mason.”

[Quo3

Mason's smile widened and he tugged her close to him, giving her a one-armed side hug. “I'm not going anywhere, I promise. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not,” he said with a chuckle. It was still new, remarkable to him, to have someone he could trust the way he trusted Halia. He'd thought that the only person he'd ever really be sure of was his sister. Of course Halia wasn't his sister, but–well, he believed her when she said she just wanted him to be happy. It was uncomplicated, and that was exactly what he needed.

“Hey. I'm really glad you were around to keep me from getting eaten by that Youma.” He gave her another smile - everything, good bad insane or otherwise that had happened to him lately had happened because of that night, one way or another. “And I'm really glad you're in my life.”