Welcome to Gaia! ::

Alex hadn't known what to think of the X from the ravaged world, not at first. He'd - sometimes she! - had been through a lot, and the tales he had heard of Alpha were enough to make him physically ill. But Draco was nice, and friendly once you got past how frightened they were of anything related to Alpha or especially being like Alpha, and he'd been eager to meet their Zero as well...

But he hadn't met Altair for a long time, the Zero too damaged and too wary to approach him, not until recently. Even now, he knew the blond watched him every moment they were around one another - not expecting an attack, exactly, but... Altai was afraid of him, and as much as that hurt, he understood why.

At least altair could stand to be in the same room as him now, he thought, looking over at the blond dozing on the couch as he fought his way to victory in an arcade-style game.

Hearing the shy voice of Draco call out, Alex waved without looking away from the screen. "Over here, Draco!" He finished off his level and closed the game, turning eyes the same shade of green as Draco's on the new arrival. "I'm up for it... but you'll have to wake Altair up; he dozed off again a little while ago."

Altair shifted in his sleep, but didn't wake, instead seeming to settle more comfortably now that Draco was in the room. Alex watched them both for a moment, then grinned. "A really,really old game. Centuries old. Ever hear of Dr. Mario?"

"It's a game," Alex confirmed, trying not to feel ill at more mentions of Alpha. That ... monster had been awful and he was glad he was gone - or at least away from Draco. Draco was nice and deserved a lot better. "Let me show you!" He tugged out the old machine, plastic and ancient technology delicately preserved and maintained. "I keep an internal copy too but sometimes you just can't beat the classics."

On the couch, Altair rolled over and mumbled something in his sleep, twisting up in his hair like it was a blanket.

"Others?" Alex's eyes went wide with delight and he grinned. "They might, or we could fix them up if not. Old tech like this is really simple to work with. Do you want to get them?"

Mumbling again as he was tugged over, Altair made a fussy noise before blinking, heavy-lidded blue eyes open but not really aware. "Dacoooo," he mumbled, dropping his head onto his X's shoulder with a huff. "M' sleepin'..."

"Well get them someday," Alex said, hoping to comfort his new friend after his misstep. And until then, I do have a lot of things you can try. I promise, there's enough to keep you busy for ages." Poor Draco... he deserved so much better than these constant unhappy memories... Which was a funny thought, when he considered his own traumas. Was this how other people felt when they looked at him?

Altair made a muzzy noise, bumping noses with Draco before tipping backwards to flop bonelessly on his back. "Mmm... but sleep's... it's good," he said with a yawn, and frowned as he tried to gather enough energy to make him want to care about being awake. "...real sleep. ... not - nightmares..."

"Mm, 'kay," Altair murmured, huddling deeper into his self-made blanket and yawning. Alex watched him doze for a moment and considered their options, tapping the controller for the ancient Nintendo device to his chin absently as he did so.

"Hm... Sami's a good choice, and she does know how important games are..." He paused, then shrugged, "If we're really lucky she might be willing to go without telling the people who'd panic about it." A soft noise from the already-dozing blond drew Alex's attention back to Altair, and he sighed.

"He... really didn't sleep last night, did he...?"

"Nah. She's usually pretty good about not telling on things like this. She knows how people fuss," Alex was quick to assure Draco, then with a considering look, popped the Dr. Mario catridge out and loaded in a different game. "Here! While we plan, want to try this? It's really old, but I think it's one you'll like."