"No. Do your thing. It's not you. It's me. Really I'll be fine." She said with a sigh, her breath fogging in the air a bit as the night got colder and colder. "Rather get it out then have it slow us down later anyways." She smiled, a small fake smile, hoping he'd just drop her and her horrible past and do the thing.
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"No, no, it's cool." Zenith lies, forcing himself to his feet. It's not worth making her upset. Sure, Crystal will get mad at him for it, but he can just dig it out after Evelyn goes home.
Well, he'll be taking her home and sitting on the roof to scare off anyone in the vicinity, but he can do it then. It's not worth bothering her over.
Besides, he's used to pain. It's just a part of everyday life. He can take a bullet wound. Of course, the wound has closed by now and it's going to hurt like hell itself to dig it out, but that's beside the point.
The point is that Zenith is willing to go through a little pain for her. Well, it's more than a little. But his point stands. Pain isn't a good excuse to make her uncomfortable. Nothing is.
"No. Go do your thing." She yawned and stood up. "I gotta get home anyways. I'll be okay. Don't you worry about me." She said, digging out a small double bladed hand axe. It glowed pink a bit and made a small whirring sound. "I'm a big girl I can take care of myself." This was a facade, as memory after memory danced through her head. She forced the smile bigger and walked off. After 10 minutes of walking she sat down, and began to cry a bit, hiding her face in her knees. She just couldn't go home like this, she couldn't go or be with anyone or anywhere like this.
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Zenith watches as she walks off. During his time in the lab, he learned quite a few things. And one thing he's never forgotten is how to spot a liar.
She's not okay.
Quickly, he draws the dagger and nicks the bullet, drawing it out. It takes a good five minutes to make sure it's done right. By then, Evelyn could be anywhere. Most people wouldn't be able to track someone down like this.
Zenith isn't most people.
He breaks into a run as he scans the area, picking up on small details that should let him know where she went. After around six minutes, he finds her, sitting down on the curb as she cries.
He hesitates a moment, unsure of what to do. This isn't his area of expertise. He knows how to kill, how to cook, and in some cases how to make small talk.
He is in no way equipped to handle this.
Biting his lip, he picks up his phone. Maybe he can't handle this. But someone else might.
And Zenith may not be the best hacker. But Crystal taught him a few tricks. Within a few minutes, he's hacked in Evelyn's phone, into her contacts.
Maybe its suspicious for her brother to receive a message from an unknown number. But he doesn't really care.
'Evan. Call your sister. She needs you.'
Evan was fast asleep in his hospital bed, resting up from the car crash. His phone was on vibrate and so he didn't even hear or notice the text, as he mumbled something about peanut butter and octopus in his sleep. Evelyn hugged herself close. "No no no…go away. Go AWAY." She even whimpered a bit and stuck her face harder into her knees so her pants soaked up all of her tears. Thank goodness she didn't regularly wear makeup or else she'd be a mess.
(GO HUG HER YOU IDIOT!)
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It's then that Zenith remembers the car crash. F*ck. Alright, looks like it's up to him.
Zenith makes his way over to Evelyn, sitting beside her. He doesn't say anything, just places a hand on her shoulder.
Sometimes talking only makes things worse. If she wants to talk, she will. If not, well, hopefully just being there for her will be enough.
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(Lol Zenith is too dumb for that)
She moved away from his hand. A hand touch. REALLY? She sniffled a bit, and looked at him. "Go away." She said. "If you aren't gonna comfort me then leave me the fuck alone." She growled out. SHe hated being seen as vulnerable and weak.
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Zenith makes eye contact. "Tell me how I can help. What do you need from me? How can I make it better?" He asks softly.
Maybe he doesn't need to know how. Guessing will only make things worse. Evelyn knows herself better than he does. She knows how best to help herself.
Or at least, he hopes she does.
She looked at him both in fear, hurt, confusion, and surprise. She then grabs his arms and puts them around herself. Normally she would advise him but she was weak, and words were hard. She only whimpered and pressed her face into his chest. She hoped he'd get the general message.
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It takes a second, but Zenith registers what she's asking for. He pulls her close and holds her tight. He's not entirely sure what set her off, but he has a vague idea.
"It's going to be okay." He promises, his voice barely a murmur. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
She nuzzles into his chest, and cries some more into his shoulder, taking some deep breaths as she listened to his comforting words. "Keep…keep talking…" She asked quietly, slowly moving into his lap.
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Keep talking… right, yeah, Zenith can do that… can't he?
"It's going to be okay. I don't know what wrong, but I do know that whatever it is isn't happening right now. As of right now, you're here with me. Listen to your breathing, bring yourself back to the present. Do you feel how cold it is?" He's not entirely sure where he's goin with this, but he does know that these are the types of things people tell him when he gets like this, so maybe they'll be helpful.
He pauses a moment, trying to find the right words.
"What you're feeling right now is scary. There's no way around feeling scared and upset right now. But it's just a feeling. It'll go away. It's going to get better. Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise. I'll protect you. It's going to be okay."
Maybe he's not doing this right. Maybe he's not the best person for this. But this is the best he can do right now, so hopefully it's good enough. Hopefully he's good enough.
She sat there and as she listened her tears faded away,and she went silent and held him close. "I…do not want to go home. I feel safe here." She said quietly, snuggling into him and his warmth, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. And lonely.
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Zenith hesitates. He hates to do this, but… "We're going to need to get out of the open." He murmurs. He wraps his arms around her and picks her up, carrying her. "We can go to my place."
And holding her close to his chest, he carries her back over to his- well, technically it's Crystal's- house.
She didn't even try to protest. By the time the two arrived at his place she was falling asleep, her suit slowly fading out from it's glow as she lulled off to Dreamland.
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Zenith carries Evelyn to his room, gently setting her down on the bed. He grabs a few more weapons, sends a few messages to Crystal and Katsumi explaining the situation, then goes out and sits on the roof, gun in hand.
It's going to be a long night.
Evelyn after an hour woke up from the flashbacks coming back, and looked around. "…Zenith?" She then got up, rubbing her eyes, and took off her suit. She then headed over to his closet, and pulled on one of his huge shirts, and a pair of sweats that just barely stayed on. After that she headed to the window, and sat on the windowsill, and very carefully she crawled up onto the roof. She scampered over to him. "DON'T SHOOT!" She called, hoping he wouldn't try to kill her in the dark. "It's me. I got lonely." Her hair was a huge mess, and the shirt draped over her features crookedly.
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Zenith slowly lowers his gun as he realizes who crawled onto the roof. "Ev. Hey." He greets, turning his attention back to the area around him. However, he quickly glances back over to her as a realization strikes him. "Are- are you wearing my shirt?"
"And you're pants too." She said with a proud smile as she sat down next to him. Her hair was a floppy mess, as the moonlight hit her face, making her glow. She looked almost ghostly, hauntingly beautiful,like a fallen star. She then put her head on his shoulder. "Come to bed. I'm a big girl I can protect myself. It's also freezing cold out here."
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Zenith sits there for a moment, staring at Evelyn as his brain stalls. Then, after a few moments too long, he looks away. "I know you can protect yourself. But I…" He trails off, heat rushing to his face. "I want to be sure that you're safe."
"Wouldn't you feel better knowing I'm all snug in your arms, head to your chest, able to put your fingers through my hair, thankful that we survived? Much better than sitting out here in the cold and dark, alone and afraid. The bed is warm and I'm there. In nothing but your clothes and undies. Please?" She asked, looking at him with big blue eyes.
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Zenith glances back over, ignoring the way his face flushes red. "I- I need to keep you safe." He looks back out to the city around them. "Go back to bed, Ev." He murmurs, clenching his pistol so tightly his knuckles begin to turn white. He needs to keep her safe. As appealing as it sounds, he can't let her get hurt because of his own selfish interests. No, better to wait out here. Better safe than sorry.
She huffed and got up, and headed inside, then came back out dragging blankets and pillows. "Since you won't come to bed with me, then I'll bring the bed to you!" She said cheerfully, stubborn as ever as she wrapped them both in a blanket, and leaned on him, yawning. "The city sure is pretty at night isn't it?" She asked softly, her arms wrapping around his one arm, hugging it close.
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Zenith sighs. He's clearly not going to be able to convince her to go back to bed. He switches the pistol to his left hand- the one not being hugged by Evelyn- and removes it from the blanket, so his arm and the weapon won't be covered.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." He comments idly, still eyeing the city around them for potential threats.
"Hm. And sometimes the beholder is blind to all beauty. I see light in even the darkest of nights,and I see shadows behind every single sun beam." She said smartly, hugging his arm tighter.
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Zenith blinks, not having an answer to that. He decides to just not reply, going back to scanning the world around them. He fiddles with his gun, which is probably dangerous, but it's not aimed at anything, so he could care less.
She eventually fell asleep on him, which meant that if he got up he'd knock her over and shove her onto the roof, hurting her and waking her up. Which would piss her off. And may the gods save the man that pisses off Evelyn when she wakes for she has no mercy until she sees the punishment as fit. Dangerous as ever. She talked softly in her sleep, little rambles of nonsense and she had a cute tiny snore.
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Zenith notes that she's fallen asleep and sighs. Looks like he's not getting his arm back anytime soon. Wordlessly, he continues his search for threats. While it's unlikely they'll try anything else tonight, it doesn't hurt to be cautious. He smiles slightly at the light snore, but jerks his mind away from it. No, he has to stay focused. He doesn't have time for that.
