Elesis sat bolt upright, panting heavily. She looked around wildly for a couple moments before realizing where she was – in her room at the inn where the Elgang was staying.
The scenes from the nightmare flashed through her head again.
She shook her head forcefully, then looked around for something else to concentrate on. Moonlight shone in through her window, turning the gray carpet into a pretty shade of silver.
The Blazing Heart stared at the carpet, the color reminding her of Add's hair. Maybe she should go see him. He kept odd hours when he was experimenting, right?
It wasn't like she was going to be able to get back to sleep....
Elesis slipped out of bed, impatiently shoving her red hair behind her ears, fumbling for her slippers. Screw it, she finally decided, and walked out of her room barefoot.
When she reached the Mastermind's door, she hesitated to knock. What if Add was sleeping? The first thing she'd learned when she started dating Add was never to try and wake him up. He substituted sleep for coffee far too much, and when his rest-deprived body actually got the chance to sleep, almost nothing could stir him.
Before Elesis could come to a decision, the door opened. Add looked out, a mug of coffee in his hand, still dressed in his normal vest and tie. His coat was nowhere to be seen.
For a split second, Elesis saw him as he had been in her nightmare, broken and bleeding. His white clothes had been stained with blood and dirt.
“You should be asleep,” Add said by way of greeting, and Elesis' mind was jerked back to reality.
“Been there, done that, got the T-shirt,” she replied, hoping her voice was nonchalant enough. “Can I come in?”
Add regarded her silently for a couple more seconds, then stepped aside. Elesis walked into the lab.
“How did you know I was out there?” she asked as Add closed the door.
“I recently installed a facial-recognition scanner into the door. Elbrat was annoying me, and I wanted a method of keeping him out, kek.” The Mastermind pointed to his neatly made bed. It looked like nobody had touched it for at least a day, and his coat was folded neatly on top of the sheets. “You can sit down, if you want.”
Elesis sat, drawing her knees up to her chest. “So, how does the scanner work?” she asked, mainly wanting to keep Add talking.
“I built a drone that can map and recognize patterns. It was simple enough to input the Elgang's facial patterns and connect it to my Dynamo.” Add walked back to the deactivated Apocalypse on his desk. “You're welcome to watch me work, but be quiet, alright?”
Elesis nodded and looked around, noticing Add's coat next to her. She picked it up, unfolding it and draping it around her. It smelled like him.
She watched him for a couple of minutes, memorizing the grace with which Add moved and the way his Dynamos jumped at any chance to help him. The way he rubbed his throat uncomfortably sometimes, like his tie was too tight, but never loosened it. The way his hair shifted when he moved his head, and how one Dynamo would sometimes flit up to adjust his ponytail. The way he would twitch his coffee mug as he set it down after taking a drink, adjusting its position to perfection. Seeing these little details, watching the living, breathing Add, helped Elesis forget a little bit of the horror of her nightmare.
Finally, Add activated Apocalypse again. The cube hummed to life, rising off the table a bit and hovering.
A small chuckle escaped from Add. “Good,” he muttered, and shut the drone off. He turned to Elesis, magenta eyes roaming over her face.
“Cold?” he asked as his gaze came to rest on the coat wrapped around the Blazing Heart. Elesis shook her head.
“Not really,” she said. She moved to take off Add's coat, but his Dynamo flew towards Elesis, tucking the fabric more securely around her.
“Don't get it dirty, kek.” Add strode towards the bed, his Dynamo hurrying to form a seat for him in front of Elesis. As he sat down on the hovering drones, he gave Elesis another searching look. “So, why are you here?”
“I couldn't sleep.”
Add's reply was dripping with pure sarcasm. “You couldn't sleep. Of course not, keke. Who could ever do something so complicated as that? It's not like sleeping is a chemical reaction that's hardwired into the brain or anything.”
“Shut up, Add.” Elesis' tone wasn't mean, just tired.
The researcher raised an eyebrow at Elesis. “Are you going to tell me what your nightmare was about?”
“How did you know I had a nightmare?!” Elesis' mind raced over what she had said to Add – she hadn't spoken about her nightmare.
“I put a camera in your room to keep an eye on you.”
Elesis tried to read Add's face, unsure for a second if he was joking or not. Then she realized, Of course he's not joking. This was the guy who had stalked Eve across two continents, after all.
“You know, most people might think that's a bit creepy,” she informed Add.
“Keke, is it?” The Mastermind seemed supremely disinterested in this information, quickly going back to the previous topic. “Out with it. What is it that scared my phoenix so badly?”
Elesis didn't even react to the nickname, drawing Add's coat more tightly around her body. She shut her eyes, bending her head and willing away the image of a broken and bleeding Add next to an unconscious Elsword.
A hot tear escaped from one corner of her closed eyes. She felt a gloved finger work its way under her chin, urging her to lift her head up. A hard, cool edge – the edge of a Dynamo – scraped across her cheek, removing the tear.
“Do I need to send Apocalypse after someone, keke?” Add's voice was softer than usual, concerned.
Elesis opened her eyes, locking her watery gaze onto Add's face. He was leaning forward, the scar on his face distinct in the half-light. The Dynamos that usually formed his armrest were hovering around Elesis, tucking Add's coat more securely around her.
“I.... You....” The Blazing Heart couldn't finish her sentence, and Add frowned. Elesis buried her face in her hands.
She felt Add shift positions, and a warm arm slid around her shoulders. Three more Dynamos joined their companions in nudging Elesis comfortingly, humming a gentle tune.
Elesis leaned into Add, her head resting on his shoulder. “You and Elsword were running through a demon-infested area, and Elsword got knifed from behind. You tried to protect him, but couldn't....”
Add's thin shoulders heaved under Elesis' head as he laughed derisively. “Me? Lose? Impossible. My calculations disallow it.”
Elesis elbowed him in the ribs, finally opening tear-filled scarlet eyes to look up at his face. “You were on the ground, Add. Bleeding. Your Dynamo weren't moving, either. And your coat.... It was ripped, and stained with blood....” She stroked the article of clothing in question, reassuring herself that it was intact. The tears spilled from her eyes.
The Dynamo pushed Elesis into Add as the Mastermind shifted his position. Elesis sobbed into Add's chest, her forehead resting on his jutting collarbone, her arms going out to encircle his thin waist.
Add awkwardly stroked Elesis' hair, feeling the wet patch on his vest slowly seep into his shirt. Strangely, his sense of disgust at having messed-up clothing wasn't as strong as it usually was. He adjusted his coat, twitching it to lay more securely over the crying red-haired knight.
“And I couldn't do anything.” Elesis' words were barely coherent. Add only heard her because his Dynamo clarified the words for him through the band at the back of his head. “I tried to stop it, but my claymore did nothing, and my fire wasn't working. It's never failed me before, but it failed when it mattered.” Elesis hiccuped.
Add continued stroking the Blazing Heart's heaving back. His Dynamo told him that Rena was at the door, most likely drawn by the sound of crying and wanting to know what was the matter. Add sent three Dynamos to go chase the elf away.
Finally, Elesis' sobs quieted. She pulled her head up, looking at Add with puffy red eyes. “I.... I'm sorry I kept you up,” she murmured.
Add bent his head to gently kiss her on the forehead. “Well, as long as you know that it'd never happen,” he purred. “My Dynamo wouldn't allow it, kek. And besides, if Elbra- Elsword was strong enough to destroy King Nasod, I don't doubt that he would be able to defend against a knife in the back.”
Elesis looked down, raising a hand and running it over the soaked patch of Add's vest. “And I got your clothes messed up.”
“Ugh. Let's not talk about that.” Add made a face, and Elesis laughed. It was a hesitant, short laugh, but still a laugh.
“Can I sleep here tonight?” Elesis suddenly asked, then blushed. “I mean, um-”
“Sure,” Add told her gently. “Just let me change into pajamas.” He detached himself from Elesis, standing up and striding to the bathroom, grabbing fluffy pajamas from the closet on his way.
Elesis took a shaky breath, attempting to calm herself down. Add's Dynamo were still humming around her, and she smiled. Add trusted her enough to leave his primary tools with her.
Elesis scooted to one side of the bed, stretching out and laying down on top of the sheets. The Dynamo pulled Add's coat over her.
She was asleep before Add came back, his coat pulled up to her face as she inhaled his unique scent.
