✧ — passionfruit green tea.

[boba]

Comments

[oversea]

Not at all. You would do the same for me.

[ ... quite literally, as it turns out. but alright, actually talking instead of just awkwardly standing in a huddle together does make this a little easier. ]

And it was easier with a friend.

[transmit]

[ A FRIEND

he resists the urge to stare. he has so many questions, but maybe it's better that they never get answered.

… ]

Everything's easier with an amigo. I think I saw Operator Fiammetta and Miss Mostima earlier, too? You had an entire squad with you.

[oversea]

... We roomed with Fiammetta.

[ in case that makes this easier to swallow unless elysium will now be under the impression that they had a throuple going on. ]

Plus all of the others from different places.

[transmit]

[ WHO WOULD IMMEDIATELY GO TO THROUPLE

he doesn't even know if the feather is platonic or romantic? he has so many questions for himself and yet he will never get answers. hand holding could mean anything. ]

… Kind of makes it sound like the early days of Rhodes, when all we had were boxes and single mattresses for five per room. But I'd hope the accommodations were better than that.

If there's nothing else, should we be in our way as well?

[ …

holds out his hand? ]

[oversea]

[ he looks down at the offered hand, a little surprised at the gesture––although it probably shouldn't be that surprising, since the two of them just showed that this was okay.

so thorns reaches out to take his hand. ]

... Yeah. Let's go home.

[transmit]

[ OKAY.

he tightens his grip so there are no takesies-backsies. ]

Mm. Do you do this with just anyone now?

[oversea]

[ this is a perfect time to do a funny callback with reirin except this elysium would not get the reference. alas. ]

Not really. You do, though.

[transmit]

[ WHAT DOES HE MEAN NOT REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



elysium doesn't know this, though. so he just takes thorns' word for it… ]

… What? No I don't. I'm following your lead.

[oversea]

[ this elysium can never know how much purgatory wanted everyone cuddling as much as possible... ]

I'm following yours.

[ elysium is the one who initiated it? ]

[transmit]

[ he would lie to his pure bbbb ]

You were doing this earlier.

[ is he just being… gaslit now? is this thorns' takeaway from purgatory? ]

[oversea]

Was I?

[ he is indeed being gaslit.

... ]

I'm actually not sure if we'll just be brought back to what we were doing before or...

[ are they going to get immediately separated ]

[transmit]

[ was he… the way it looks like he's convinced he was delusional for a fraction of a second before he realises that thorns is way too relaxed holding his hand now for it to not be true.

so, he grips thorns' hand extra tight in retaliation. die. ]

… That's why I thought holding onto you might help. But if we're separated, I guess it's just back to business as usual.

[oversea]

[ ... ]

Let's just think about sticking together and see if that works.

[ he adjusts his hold on nene with his other arm. ]

Vamos.

[transmit]

[ he is still shaking over being gaslight… but he supposes this can be addressed later. or never. ]

Tú primero, capitán.

[oversea]

[ he nods, but doesn't move right away.

... but then he squeezes elysium's hand back. not as punishment, but to be reassuring and to let him know that he's here, before he walks forward to finally leave purgatory behind with his favorite person.

and also nene is there. ]

[transmit]

[ is he his favourite person though… or is he just a fake…

and just because i'm feeling so generous——


as they descend the winding staircase back into their regular lives, their bodies grow lighter and lighter until every sensation slips away, until he can no longer feel what's in his hand, or hold on as much as he might want to. like this, they fall back into the ordinary: elysium jolting awake in a familiar chair, surrounded by familiar books, a pen still resting in his hand.

'mister elysium? are you okay?' ]

—Huh? Oh, right. Sorry. I thought I heard something just now. To— [ … ] —yes?

[oversea]

[ ... well, he can't be surprised that's how it ended up.

with elysium not appearing with him, it almost feels like a dream—but only almost, because the necklace hanging off of him is a strong reminder of all that happened.

and so, when it's later that evening on the same thing, thorns will do something he never does: send a transmission. ]

Elysium? I just wanted to check in. This is Thorns.

[transmit]

[ the way this singlehandedly makes elysium realise that purgatory might've not been a delusion after all with how wildly out there this is. would it be an understatement to say it might be the first time thorns has contacted him this way…? perhaps he has when it comes to the battlefield or their professional life, but incredibly likely when it comes to everything else. it's somehow more bizarre than anything he might've experienced in purgatory, from there being another set of them and finding himself sleeping in a field of flowers.

as much as he wants to voice his surprise, he realises that wouldn't exactly be conducive to encouraging this character development… so after he spends a few minutes by himself going ??????? and squinting at his communicator, ]

Thorns? I just finished with my signing. Can I help you?

[oversea]

[ he just wanted to check to see if he was okay... and has absolutely nothing else to say now that he has confirmed that. ]

Just checking to see if you made it back safely.

[ good talk.... ]

[transmit]

[ THORNS ]

… Ah, yeah. It's like I never left.

[ he is so lucky elysium knows how to carry a conversation… ]

Our next touchpoint should be a month from now, right? Are you sure you don't need anything?

[ any other mystical revelations he's come to in the time elysium was apparently knocked out?? ]

[oversea]

[ thorns is trying so hard to act how they always do together but it's annoyingly hard when they have been getting intimate for the past three week. ]

I don't. I'll see you when we meet up, then.

[ ...

was that normal....? ]

[transmit]

[ the entire basis is abnormal wrap it up

elysium is also thinking the feather he'd seen thorns wearing was also a fever dream of some kind. that is his bro…? he is the top contender of the three people he'd most likely give a feather to, but it's still something he can't really imagine himself doing at this point of time, much less a version of him that's further into the past. ]

… Sure. I'm always just a transmission away. Let me know if anything comes up.

[ ?????? ]

[oversea]

Okay. Bye.

[ this is so stupid when you are unaware thorns is in love with him. sorry elysium.

but he has to try to get back to adapting to life... while also knowing that rhodes is going to explode in the near future. this is how you know thorns has feelings for someone because he considers sending another transmission...

he doesn't. but he considers it. ]

[transmit]

[ JUST OKAY. BYE.

elysium spends another few minutes staring at his transceiver in shock before someone pokes his head into his room and says his ride is here to pick him up. ultimately, he's too busy to really dwell on thorns' behaviour, purgatory more and more of a blip in his memory the further they get away from it.

if thorns isn't in danger, he isn't in danger. he keeps tabs on how thorns and his crew seem to be doing via the grapevine and leaves it there.

fast forward to the day before their touchpoint— ]

Hi, Thorns. It's Elysium.

Are we still on track to meet on the coast of Victoria? The caravan's stopping in a major city tonight, so this is your last chance to let me know if there's anything that might be harder for you to get your hands on outside of Rhodes' channels. I have the usual. Over.

[oversea]

[ whoa...

returning back to a regular life after purgatory has been an odd sort of adjustment. while his stay isn't as neatly packed away, there are moments where he has to wonder if it really did happen or not. but he still has the mementos from the stay reminding him it was real.

thorns has stopped wearing the feather as a necklace. instead, he's tucked it into his other hair accessories–still technically visible, but also less noticeable because it blends in with everything else. ]

We should be docking by tonight.