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 Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:48 pm
Takes place in May. Relevant to Nobody said it was easy On quiet feet, Vyn crept toward the room he shared with Aliez.
They often kept strange hours, not requiring sleep as often as the people of Earth. Recently, the hours Vyn kept had become even stranger. He left the Vanguard house for long stretches of time. His shifts at the flower shop kept him occupied during daylight. At night, or during days off, he spent his time searching the city and its surroundings. He rarely let himself relax, not even to weave flowers into crowns or loop yarn into blankets. The less opportunities he had to let his thoughts wander, the better.
Tonight, he returned just after three in the morning; when he timed it right, the house would be quiet—not deserted, but less busy. He padded down the hall in cotton shorts and a sweat stained t-shirt, hair a bit disheveled, frizzy from the wet heat of encroaching summer. He hadn’t worn his uniform in weeks. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in nearly as long. If he saw them, he did so in glimpses. He’d kept his ComTech, but he’d taken to turning off his GPS location. Most days, Vyn didn’t want to be found.
The door opened soundlessly. Vyn had every intention of grabbing a change of clothes and taking a shower before allowing himself a few hours of sleep. The bath tempted him as it always did, but lingering too long wouldn’t be beneficial. The sooner he dealt with the inconveniences of cleanliness and sleep, the sooner he could begin searching again.
He would not be so casual. He would not cater to unproductive emotions any more than he already had.
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:49 pm
Aliez knew something was going on with Vyn. He hadn’t been himself lately, but he could tell that Vyn was being evasive. Before he started disappearing, any conversation Aliez had attempted had been cut short with aloof dismissal. Insistence that Vyn was fine.
Aliez didn’t know what to do. Seeing one of his best friends suffering and not wanting help-- what was Aliez supposed to do? Report him to Lyndin? Try to conspire with Andreiya to corner him and force him to talk? If anything, that might make Vyn shut down even more.
In the time that Vyn had turned off his GPS and disappeared, Aliez didn’t just sit idly by. He checked on him from a distance. He knew where Vyn worked, and watched from the cafe across the street as Vyn shuffled his way in.
Occasionally, Aliez thought about leaving Vyn a note. Just a few words of encouragement. But he was afraid that if Vyn knew he was trying to find him or get through to him, that Vyn would decide to disappear completely.
So any time he found Vyn sleeping, he left him to do so in peace. He would rather Vyn come back to them on his own terms than push him away completely. He didn’t want to make him feel like he was being trapped.
Which was why, when Vyn pushed open the door with clearly no intention of being seen, Aliez froze at his desk where he’d been putting together his notes on the medicine he’d been researching.
He stared with wide eyes, possibly longer than he should have, before awkwardly glancing away and clearing his throat. But he couldn’t just ignore Vyn. He just didn’t want him bolting.
“There’s a bag of candied fruit on the dresser,” he tried not to let his voice crack with emotion, choosing instead to focus on holding his pen steady against the page he was scribbling on. It hadn’t shaped an actual word since Vyn entered, but it did make some scratching on the page in a clear attempt to look casual.
At least until he fumbled the pen. He silently cringed as it noisily skidded across the desk. He didn’t reach for it, but instead continued to sit still, as though afraid to startle a wounded animal.
“I made it,” he quickly continued, as though that would cover up the blunder. “Citrus peels soaked in melted sugar. Andreiya said he liked them. You’re welcome to them if you’d like. I thought you might need something sweet.”
He paused, chewing at the inside of his cheek, before cautiously glancing over at Vyn. “I wasn’t sure you’d come back tonight,” he said, his voice gentle but cautious. “I’m glad you did.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:49 pm
Vyn froze.
He hadn’t expected Aliez to be up. Of course there was always that chance; he couldn’t always time things perfectly, and Aliez might decide to force himself to stay awake if he was worried enough, but the house had been quiet and Vyn hadn’t noticed many lights on inside as he’d made the trek back, so he’d been hopeful there wouldn’t have to be a confrontation.
Vyn didn’t want to talk. He didn’t want to explain. There wasn’t anything to say anyway. The less he said, the less he felt. The less he felt, the better off he’d be.
He’d expressed his doubts before and Aliez had suffered for it. Vyn wouldn’t make that mistake again.
He forced himself back into motion. He walked stiffly to the dresser where he kept his Earth clothes, eyeing the bag of candied fruit.
“Thank you,” he said, but didn’t reach for it.
Sweets were an indulgence. Earth had so many varieties of candies and cakes and pastries and cookies Vyn was still discovering new ones. He hadn’t let himself enjoy them since the Hollow. Indulgence was dangerous. It made them complacent.
He left the bag where it was and rummaged through the drawers for clean clothes.
“I’m going to shower,” he announced, but offered nothing more.
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:50 pm
Aliez didn’t stop him.
He didn’t ask him to stay. He didn’t beg for an explanation, maybe a promise that he was okay. He didn’t get up to try and corner him by the dresser. It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to get Vyn to talk. He felt on edge, almost desperate to get him to open up, to tell him what was wrong. Had something else happened? Or was it still reflections from when they faced the Hollow? Of saving a world that had been unkind to them, uncaring of their pain?
Reaching out, he retrieved the pen, but it remained still on the page.
“I know,” Aliez said quietly, but what he knew was left undefined. Maybe that he knew Vyn was hurting. Or that he didn’t want to talk. Or that he was pushing himself to impossible limits. Maybe he thought the lingering silence would protect them both.
His eyes didn’t leave the page in front of him, even if he wasn’t really looking at it anymore.
“You don’t have to eat the fruit. Or talk. Or stay, if that’s not what you want.”
There was a pause, and it was almost long enough to pass for silence. He hated seeing his friend like this. Hated not knowing what to do to make things better. He didn’t think it was fair that he felt lost and alone when Vyn was clearly suffering. Aliez could manage things on his own, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t care about his friend.
“If you ever feel like coming back,” he finally said, his voice softer still. “I’ll be here.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:50 pm
“I am back,” Vyn argued. “I never left. We have a mission. I’m doing my part.”
There was no heat in his voice. There was no emotion in his eyes. There were no more dreamy sighs waiting to escape, no more tentative smiles to accompany daydreams and fantasies that had no room to flourish. There was only the reality of their situation and his attempts to find a resolution.
When he ran, Vyn focused on the pounding of his heart and the ache in his lungs and the burn in his muscles. He considered the heat and the sticky air and how the sunshine felt against his skin. When he stopped running, he pushed everything else away. He thought only of where he would search the next time he went out, what he would do if he was successful. Worry and doubt were better left buried. If he denied himself time for fear, he wouldn’t be overcome by it.
Vyn kept his gaze averted. Looking at Aliez would let guilt take root. Aliez would be fine. He had his studies. He would watch after the others and check on the Commodore. He didn’t have to put himself in harm’s way. He didn’t have to dirty his hands. None of them did, because Vyn would do that for them.
“Don’t wait up for me,” Vyn said.
Clean clothes at hand, he turned to leave.
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:50 pm
Aliez didn’t argue.
But he wanted to.
He wanted to stand up, to block the doorway, to make Vyn look at him. He wanted to say something -- anything -- that would snap him out of whatever cold suffering he was forcing on himself.
But Aliez didn’t move.
He didn’t speak. At least not right away.
Because this wasn’t about what he wanted. It was about what Vyn needed. Or rather… what Vyn thought he needed. And Aliez didn’t want to be just another voice that Vyn had to run from.
He gripped the pen a little tighter in his hand.
You’re not back… he thought, his jaw clenching as he resisted the urge to stand and confront Vyn. You’re here, but not back. Not really… Not where I can reach you…
There was no weight in Vyn’s voice. No heat. It was like talking to something empty -- a shell of his friend who had always been a pillar of strength for him. For the whole Vanguard, whether they realized it or not.
Aliez’s heart ached, like a weight had settled on his chest and refused to move. He remembered Vyn’s gentle smile, the way he hummed when he made his flower crowns. The panic in his eyes when they realized they’d messed up and got in trouble during their first visit to the mall and needed Lyndin to come save them. They laughed about it later. Awkwardly and with heavy embarrassment when they told Andreiya what happened. He remembered the way Vyn’s eyes would light up when the Commodore was mentioned. When they talked about dragging him out of the Dark Kingdom to watch aurora with them.
Now…? Vyn wouldn’t even look at him.
“I know you didn’t leave,” Aliez said at last, but even as he said it, he felt his throat burn with emotion. “But sometimes… it feels like you did.”
Once more, he stared at the page in front of him, but he wasn’t really seeing anything. His vision had blurred, but he quickly blinked it away as he steeled himself. For Vyn’s sake, if not his own.
He thinks this is protecting us. That he has to do this alone. But all I see is him disappearing…
When Vyn turned to go, Aliez tensed, his throat tightening. He almost didn’t say anything. Almost let him walk out and vanish again. But he couldn’t let it end like that. Not completely. Aliez had never really known how to keep his mouth shut, anyway.
“You don’t have to carry it alone, you know,” he said quietly, swallowing back the threat of his voice cracking. “Even if you think you should.”
He didn’t wait for a response. He didn’t expect one. He just sat there, his shoulder curling with defeat, his pen resting useless in his hand. And for the first time since Vyn stepped through the door, he let the silence rest, sad and lonely.
Fin!
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