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 Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 1:01 pm
Yvoire thought he was plenty easy to ignore. He was quiet. He kept to himself. He didn’t go out of his way to talk to people. He tended to get lost in the crowd, either because he wanted to or because other people overlooked him. He was short and thin. He was pale. For years, he’d been too self-conscious to look at himself and find things other people might find attractive.
He wasn’t always so self-conscious now. Now that the braces had come off. Now that he’d grown into his body a little more.
“I didn’t think you had a plan,” Yvoire said. “I think you were confused and desperate and you made bad choices.”
He’d stopped after Reims had, so they stood a few feet away from one another—far enough that they couldn’t touch without closing some of the distance. He looked at what he could see of Reims’ face through the dark. The light of the moon helped, but the shadows were plentiful.
For a moment, Yvoire didn’t know what else to say. Making friends wasn’t easy for him. Keeping friends wasn’t either. Anything beyond that was completely foreign. He never knew what to do or what to say or how to act, or if it was enough just to be there. Being close to anyone scared him, even if a part of him craved it. He knew how quickly and how easily things could change.
“I’m not saying anything to make you feel better,” Yvoire said. His voice grew quiet, muffled by shyness. “I’m saying it because… I still feel the way I felt before you told me who you are. I liked you. I still do, even if it’s confusing. I like when you stare. I wouldn’t give you so many opportunities to do it if I didn’t want you to. But… I don’t want to mess things up again, either.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 1:02 pm
Reims’s brain shorted out somewhere around I still do.
It was unfair, how simple Yvoire made it sound. Like it wasn’t supposed to be complicated. Like Reims hadn’t spent years convincing himself that anyone who liked him was either confused or about to regret it. If he even realized they liked him at all. It had taken him a long time to figure out Cassidy had been flirting with him, not making fun of him.
“You--uh… You still--” His throat felt dry, and he desperately tried to find anything to say that didn’t sound stupid.
“Right. Yeah. Okay.”
Smooth.
He scrubbed his hand over the back of his neck and huffed in embarrassment. “You really know how to drop that kind of thing right when my brain’s already fried…”
For a second, he thought about stepping closer. Just enough to bridge the space between them, like the time they’d met on the bridge between their Wonders and pulled forth more power completely by surprise --
But the sound of the wind shifting through the empty street made him hesitate. The quiet felt too thin, like one wrong move might tear it.
“I like you too,” he said finally, the words low and uncertain, but sincere. “I don’t think it ever really stopped, even when I told myself it should’ve. After what I did…”
He exhaled, shaking his head in resignation. “You make me forget how to act like a normal person. But for the record,” he paused, glancing curiously at Yvoire. “If I stare, it’s not by accident. You’re kind of hard not to look at.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 1:02 pm
Yvoire mumbled a low “sorry” that carried more amusement than remorse.
Maybe now wasn’t really the time for this conversation. Yvoire didn’t regret it. He’d thought Reims had known all along—whenever Yvoire teased him; whenever he took off his cape and his coat; whenever he gave Reims the chance to stare. He’d thought he’d been obvious, that there could be no mistaking what he’d meant by it. Sure, some of it had been to get back at Reims, but not all of it. Some of it had been because he’d wanted to, because he liked the attention, and he wanted it from Reims specifically.
Yvoire’s cheeks grew hotter. He tore his eyes away, bashful in a way he’d managed to avoid so far. He thought about reaching for Reims’ hand like he used to, then quickly thought better of it. They had no idea who or what was out there, only the sense that something lurked in the dark. Yvoire couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on them.
“Once we’re done here—”
Something wailed again, closer than before. Yvoire jumped, immediately losing his train of thought. He peered behind Reims but saw nothing. He peered behind himself and saw only decay, the office building rising out of the night like a beacon.
His heart beat wildly. Gloved hands curled tighter around his parasol.
“Whatever’s going on, I don’t think we’re alone here,” he said, in a low, cautious tone of voice that made it clear he wasn’t talking about the presence of their friends.
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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 1:03 pm
Reims didn’t even have time to ask what Yvoire had been about to say.
The wail cut through the night again. Too close this time. Too sharp. His pulse spiked.
He reached instinctively for Yvoire’s arm, not gripping, just a light, grounding touch.
“Stay beside me,” he said quietly, the words steady even though his breath wasn’t.
He glanced up and down the street, searching for movement. Every shadow looked like it could be something ready to jump out at them. The air felt heavier now. Thick with the smell of metal and decay. The sludge near the curb seemed to pulse faintly, like something beneath it was breathing.
“Yeah,” he grumbled in agreement, scanning the dark. “We’re not.”
He took a step forward, placing himself between Yvoire and the sound. The silence that followed pressed in around them again. Reims took a settling breath and let it out slowly.
“Guess that talk’s gonna have to wait,” he said, voice low but not unkind. “Don’t forget what you were gonna say, though. I still want to hear it. But we’ll meet with the others before we find out what’s making that noise.”
FIN
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