OMG I can’t thank you enough for writing that last one! 😭❤️❤️❤️ Is it okay to request another? I was thinking “you’ve been crying. i can tell.” 👉👈😳
of course it’s ok!!!!! :]
When Vega enters the room quietly, he quickly clears his throat, slyly wipes his eyes, and acts as if he’s fiddling with a tablet.
For a moment, it seems as if his ruse fools Vega. He doesn’t immediately walk over and fret. But he stops in his tracks, peering at him, before turning around and heading to the rec room to grab something.
Out of sight, he uses his hand to wipe tear tracks off his gritty face. He arranges himself to appear more lax, picking Inky up and setting her on his abdomen, where she settles comfortably.
Vega returns with a glass and a blanket draped over one shoulder. As inconspicuously as he can, the Slayer looks over to him with lidded eyes, feigning exhaustion. Curiously, Vega tilts his head as he inspects the marine.
“You’ve been crying,” he comments. “I can tell.”
Of course. He was foolish to think he could actually sneak something past Vega. He slumps back onto the bed defeatedly.
Vega sets the glass down and settles the blanket on the bed. “Do not feel as if you must hide such things from me,” he soothes. “You are strong, you are brave, but you are not impervious to the afflictions of your kind.” He sits next to the Slayer, easing a hand onto his shoulder.
He can’t hold it back again--he chokes on an inhale as his ribs spasm, disturbing Inky. He’s crying freely again. The world saver, the demigod, the last hope for humanity, sobbing like a child. How pathetic, he thinks.
But Vega does the opposite of what he expects. He helps the Slayer sit up, tucking his head into the crook of the mech’s neck. “You are okay,” he murmurs comfortingly. “Let it out. Nobody is here to judge you.”
To put it simply, he does. Sobs claw out of his lungs and throat roughly, though they hardly make a noise. Inky sits curiously at his side before moving to pitter back and forth on the bed, rubbing along his side in her typical fashion.
“No one can be strong forever,” Vega continues. “Everyone needs a break. You are no exception. You are not weak for it. Rather, it is a very human thing to happen.” He rubs the Slayer’s back gently.
Inky stretches to rub her head against his elbow. It jostles him out of his lamenting, and he sits back just enough to scratch her head.
“Do not worry about letting your weaknesses show in the safety of our quarters, Slayer. There is nobody here but Inky and I, and neither of us are here to harm you. Do you understand?”
Shakily, the Slayer nods.
Inky jumps down from the bed, rifling around underneath the mattress for a moment, before jumping back up with something in her mouth. She trots over to the Slayer and rests it on his leg. It’s a little scrap of fleece Vega had given to her as he was procuring blankets for the Slayer. She carries it around the room to cuddle with, and was something that made her feel at home and safe.
And she’s offering it to him.
“Would you look at that,” Vega hums.
As steadily as he can, he wraps one arm around Vega’s neck to crush him into an embrace, using the other to scoop Inky up and hold her close.