Jason
Wanna start my dear hour
Veronica
Matti traced the steps back to their dorm, sneaking less-than-subtle glances at Gabe as they did so. Something seemed wrong. He seemed upset— he *Was* Upset. But the walk there had been nearly silent, with only a clearly faked smile or joke. They'd surely ask him about it later, but for now, they wanted to be somewhere familiar—

They froze. Their door was closed, the lock that usually glowed a bright red dull and dead. Something was wrong. Someone could have broken in. Their breathing hitched, but they forced themself to remain calm as they turned to Gabe. "I think someone's been in my room. I can check the place over for bugs, but I'm slightly burnt out. I'm not sure how effective I'll be."
Jason
Gabe looked at the door, then back at Matti, then back at the door. *Oh,* He realizes, *I didn't explain that, did I?*

"No, no. It's fine. Val broke the lock to, er, crack the damn door open to get your blue box. Only problem was that... Well, the lock broke, so I've been waiting over here and making sure no one broke in or stole your stuff."

Gabe sits down on the metal folding chair outside of the dorm, resting his feet on the cooler that sat next to the room. Hopefully, Matti wouldn't be angry with him for opening the box— the other did give Gabe the combination, but Matti ended up being safe and unharmed. The contents were... Personal, and Gabe didn't know whether or not that glimpse into Matti's life would be appreciated.

"It'd be a bit of a shitty return home if you came back to an empty room, right? There was no one watching this place when I came to get ya, but... I don't think anyone would have the balls to steal your stuff in that tiny window, so it's probably fine." He gestures to the closed door, prodding it with a single finger and watching it swing open slightly.
Veronica
Gabe had... Protected their room? 

Mattias felt a tiny puzzle piece fit back into their mind with rush of electricity, almost like a fuse being replaced. Like coming back online. They shook their head as a flood of emotions pushed through their body in an instant, a current that quickly faded, but didn't recede fully. 

"Oh. Well, don't stay outside, come in." They glared critically at the cooler, not bothering to hide the distaste they felt for Gabe's strange diet. "We can talk. If you want."

They pushed open the door, laying their satchel on the ground after pulling out their handbook, collapsing onto the bed. For once, they found themself uncaring if they messed up the well-made sheets. They let out a long sigh. 

*Shit*, they pushed themself upright, leaning up against the wall. "And you. Looked through the lockbox." They weren't upset about it— they'd given him the code, after all, and explicit permission. It just, in retrospect, felt silly. Everything had been fine in the end, and they'd troubled Gabe for nothing. "We can talk about that too. Just. Ask me anything. I'll answer."
Jason
"Ah, er, alright." Gabe wheels the cooler inside and folds the chair to rest against the walls of the dorm, before closing the door behind the two. It was much smaller than his own, and Gabe couldn't help but examine the room with interested eyes. A small glimpse of Matti's internal life, an admission into their place of rest. It was... A bit touching. 

He takes his shoes off by the door, before joining Matti on the bed. 

"I mean, there's the obvious— *Why the fuck did you stay there?*" Gabe lets out a defeated, exasperated laugh. "Why did you *Go* In the first place? What was there that was so pressing you left all of us to worry *Sick* About you for three days?" 

Gabriel sighs, and his head falls limp, looking up at the ceiling while resting back on his forearms. He wasn't *Mad* At Matti— he knew the other was, well, a bit unstable and naive, stupid in the ways that warranted his presence to step in and explain what was right from wrong. He was *Exhausted*, not mad. The thick relief that washed over his body brought with it the pent up sleep debt from nights of staying up to watch over Matti's dorm.

"No, you talk. Give me your side of the story. *Why*, for all of this."
Veronica
Matti stood and opened a desk drawer, depositing a small bag of lemon candy next to Gabe. They'd gotten them originally to give to Margo whenever they stopped by next, but it seemed like Gabe might benefit from them now. *Plus, it's not like she'll miss them*, they thought bitterly. They retook their seat next to Gabe, fidgeting with the yellow journal in their hands. 

"This is a long story. And it's... A lot. Just wait until I'm done, then ask questions. Please?" They glanced up at Gabe before returning their gaze to the ground. They breathed in.

"A few nights ago, I snuck out. I hadn't learned my lesson from meeting that creature in the woods, but I didn't make it that far this time. I was hiding in the courtyard, waiting for a security guard to pass, when I saw her. An Angel. Her name is Frida. Margo was there too— I don't know for what reason. But Frida was scared. She almost got caught by the guard, but I was able to give her my burner phone before she ran away." They leaned back, eyes closing as they removed their glasses and set them on their pillow. 

"When I asked Margo about it, she told me what I told you. The Angels are a cult, killing people. Getting brainwashed. There's an escaped Angel, her name is Annika. She was staying in Valio's room, Margo used me to confirm it. She needed to talk to Valio about it. But I was, I don't know. No— I was untrustworthy. I can't lie, I can't keep secrets, you know? So she sent me away. And then—"

"Frida called me. She was scared and— she's just a kid, you know? She didn't have anyone. She reminded me of myself, a little. As vain as that sounds. She was the one that sent that message into the group chat, the tower one. I called her again and asked her about it, and she told me to send Margo there. Alone. Like fuck I was going to let *That* Happen. So I went with her." Matti closed their handbook and tossed it next to their glasses. Without it, their hands shook more, and they curled them by their side.

.

"We went there. There were Angels inside the tower. Margo said to run if there was danger, and I told her I wouldn't. No matter what." A loose chuckle escaped them, a noise of an some unidentifiable emotion. They pushed forward. "We went inside, there was an elevator. We were supposed to go to Floor 13, but it stopped early on. There were two Angels. Said Margo had to go on alone." They shuddered. "She pushed me out. She *Pushed me out*. She'd spent so long telling me that they were killers and dangerous and said I should run, and then she *Left me alone with them*." Matti bit their tongue. Choking out whatever else wanted to surface, whatever amalgamable grief. After a pause, they exhaled.

"They didn't kill me. Obviously. Their names were Karin and Eva, though I really only talked to Karin. She told me they were vigilante killers. That they went after people the law couldn't touch, the ones that were harming innocents. She said their 'Big Sister'— the leader— had an ability. To tell who was good and bad." Their voice dropped to a whisper. "I got angry. Said that if I was going to kill someone, I wouldn't take somebody else's word for it. That I'd make sure I wasn't hurting anyone else, if they died. Changed the subject. We talked about... About a lot, I guess. She said their Purpose— that's the haloes— altered the way they thought. Sounded like brainwashing to me, but who knows. She said a lot of them had been doing this before they joined the Angels. That they didn't force anyone to do anything." 

"She was telling the truth," They added. "About all of it. I got worried, asked about Margo, and she took me up. The other Angels there said Margo had attacked them, that Margo had—" They inhaled sharply. "That Margo had left the building. Without me. So, I stayed for a little while. The Angels had been... Kind. And I didn't know if I could— I had to gather my thoughts, a little bit."

.

"Burned my hand making ramen," They waved the lightly bandaged injury towards Gabe, attempting to bring humor to the stifling air around them. "Got my ass kicked at Uno and won Trivial Pursuit. I didn't really— nothing else notable happened." 

As they concluded, it felt like all the words had drained out of them. They refused to look at Gabe, refused to identify whatever emotion they'd see on his face. Anger, at their recklessness? Fear, for the things the Angels had done? Disgust, that Matti would associate with them? Gabe had protected their room, protected *Them*. They wanted to hang onto that for a little longer, wanted the blissful ignorance.
Jason
Deep breaths. 

That was... A lot. Gabe sorted the information into two separate bins: One of useful information he'd certainly toil over in the darkest recesses of the night, and another of information that made Gabe's head turn hot at the transgressions Matti faced. 

*Margo abandoned them. Left them to die, or worse. All the money in the fucking world, and she abandons a fucking kid to save her own skin. Coward. Coward coward.* 

Gabe sucked in a deep breath, looking over at the kid (who was currently looking at everything *But* Gabe). Matti looked so *Tiny*, frail and fragile with no muscle mass to speak of. Just a kid, he realized. A kid— just like Blanche, just like all of the children he would help practice lines with at the local theater, or tutor in maths, or spot when they needed someone to stand vigilant before attempting dangerous dance moves. 

Just a kid.

"Matti, you..." Before he knows it, he's wrapping the other into a soul-crushing hug, tightly embracing the short kid with large, tree-trunk arms. 

"You didn't deserve to be left to the fucking wolves. I'm happy they were kind to you, but— it's dangerous." 

Gabriel spends a moment patting Matti on the back from within the hug, tucking his head against their shoulder. It was a relief, that they were back and *Safe* And not in dangerous cult headquarters. Even if the cult was a surprisingly competent daycare— it was no place for someone like Matti to be in. 

Matti needed better friends, Gabe realized. Maybe he'd invite the other to a movie night with a couple of the other kids— it would make socializing easier.

"I'm relieved you weren't *Hurt*, physically. If you want me to kick Margo's ass, I'll do so— not usually in favor of hitting women, but *Someone's* Gotta do it, you know?" 

Maybe he'd get Ares to do it, or retaliate by spreading a nasty rumor about her. Gabe did *Not* Want 'hitting women' on his reputation as an actor, as much as he wished she would pay for what she did to Matti.
Veronica
Matti paused, the air in their lungs freezing without cold. Then, they sagged into the hug, gripping the back of Gabe's shirt and wishing their eyes weren't filled with tears. Their breaths came in short gasps, quiet first, then quick and ragged. 

"I was *Scared*," They cried. "I was so *Scared*, I thought I was going to *Die*, I thought that they would brainwash me and I would be *Nothing* Again." Their body trembled like sheer will was the only thing holding them together, like they were a crack spreading through a stone dam. They sobbed and it was everything they had ever feared, every searching eye and looming figure and dead body in the woods, every empty household, every night gone hungry. When they were done, they felt leaden, and their eyes stung, and they were safe.

"It wasn't Margo's fault," They spoke, voice hoarse. "She's my age. We agreed, before. That at least one of us would get out. I'm glad." The words tasted sweet, like truth, like rotting fruit. Like ash. "If I had died there, I would have been glad." 

Mattias slumped against the wall, feeling too much and nothing at all. They coughed, and fumbled blindly for their water bottle, taking a large sip. Their hat had been pushed off their head sometime during their breakdown, and instead of replacing it they set it on the desk beside the bed. 

"I think if I had a brother like you, I would have been a little less fucked up," They admitted, feeling a sudden compulsion to speak. *What was her name again-* "Blanche is lucky to have you." 

It wasn't *Quite* What they had been meaning to say, but they couldn't muster the energy to change their words. Already, they found themself near sleep, a concept made unthinkable only by the lock still broken, deactivated on their door, and the presence of another person next to them. *Emotions*, they thought, with some small layer of disgust. *How do people manage?*
Jason
Gabe swallowed something that was crawling up his throat. *Fuck,* He realized. *I'm too soft for them.* He wanted to tighten the hug and reassure them it would be alright, that he'd get rid of all the bad things that plagued Matti. That there was nothing to fear, now that they were safe in the Cradle. 

"Brotherhood... It doesn't have to be, you know, genetic. Brothers can be brothers in *Spirit.* There's that saying about 'blood of brothers being thicker than water of the womb.'" Gabe can feel his voice take on a slightly sheepish tone, before clearing his throat and continuing on with newfound confidence.

"Uh, also, about your door..." His head swivels to face the sound of hinges creaking with effort, as a slight breeze makes the door sway. 

"Do you... Like, need me to stay here? Or do you wanna take the extra cot in my room for a bit-? It's a double, but you've been in there before, so it shouldn't be too cramped. I know there's CCTV in the halls, so your stuff will prawlly be fine... Hopefully, but I can move out the shit you wanna keep safe." The irritation in Gabe voice was self-evident— not irritation directed at Matti, but at the damn Cradle for taking *Three days* To fix a goddamn lock. Where *Were* The staff? Was everyone at this place so goddamn incompetent?

*And,* Gabe thinks to himself. *I'll be able to keep an eye on you, to make sure none of those angel bastards come back, or you don't run away again, or...* Endless worries momentarily fill Gabe's thoughts, before he clears them with a deft shake of his head.
Veronica
Matti paused. Inhaled. Exhaled. 

"Gabe. I get these. Nightmares sometimes. All the time. Every night. For eight years. It's been. They're uh— you probably don't want to hear about them. Uriel helped me, and they were gone for a little bit, that's the relevant stuff, but because of—" *The Tower*, they don't need to say "—*Circumstances*, they've been coming back. I wake up a lot during the night, and during that time I don't always feel safe around other people. I wouldn't kick you to the floor. I mean, you're tall. It." 

They inhaled. Years, *Years* Of training to repress, to push down, to suffocate, was the only thing that allowed them to keep speaking.

"I haven't slept in a room— a house, really— since they started, and I'm worried I might attack you. If I wake up and see you. So. I probably won't be getting any sleep regardless, that's my point. And I don't want you to get hurt. So I might as well stay here— the deadbolt isn't broken, so I *Technically* Have a lock. People won't steal anything from me. And there's not really anything here I can't replace beside what's in the lockboxes, and those have individual codes and trackers in them. I'll be fine, if you want to go back. That's what I'm saying." 

The words fell, tripping over their tongue. Mattias felt like a child in the way they had ever since they'd gotten back from the tower, clumsy and confused and ineloquent. They wanted to bite it out, vaguely. Furious at their mouth for not forming words the way they wanted it to.
Jason
"I'm not going to force you into anything you don't feel comfortable with. If you want me to fuck off and scram, I have no problem with doing so." Gabe crosses his arms, doing his best not to pry into the other's personal life. 

Still, the possible reasons of why his friend would develop those reflexes sends a shiver down Gabe's spine, and a pit in his stomach drop. *Eight years, and they haven't slept in a room since.* It sent righteous fury through his veins, the hot emotion boiling his blood and forcing his arms and hands to *Do something.*

His arms fold tighter together, and Gabe takes a deep breath. Dwelling on the subject would hurt Matti more than it would hurt Gabe second-handedly, and it was already hurting him *Pretty fucking badly.*

"But, just to set the record straight, I could *Totally* Kick you ass even if you caught me while I was sleeping. Now, I know that's not the take away from this conversation, but, trust me, I am *Super buff*, and any punch you'd try to throw at me would probably bounce off of my pecs like rubber, you get me? We clear?"

He claps Matti on the back, making it a little harder than usual. Just to solidify his point. 

"Not that I'd hit you back, or anything. I have some special tricks with my powers I haven't shown anyone here that are more than capable of doin' the job without hurting people, so..."
Veronica
"No!- no. It's alright, I'm not kicking you out. It's just a warning." A warning that, as Gabe pointed out, wouldn't really do much. They'd barley held their ground against a fucking *Wild dog*, there was no reason to believe that Gabe, someone who had reduced them to burning eyes and instantaneous overload, would be in any danger. The thought was comforting. 

"Ah, yes, how could I have forgotten. The Great and Mighty Gabriel, he who may end all threat to his life." Matti shook their head. "Tall people, I swear. It's a wonder you can support that height, with all the weight of your ego." They kept their tone light, but quickly glanced back over to Gabe, making sure the joke was recognized for what it was. Their smile faded, not out of unhappiness but in the way it did as their whole body relaxed, clearly done with the trials it had overcome during the days past. 

"I'll probably try to sleep, then. It's your choice what you want to do, though I don't exactly have another bed for you." They'd slept alone, when with the Angels, but still in an unfamiliar place. *It's all unfamiliar*, they reminded themself. *All of it.* It'd been less than a month since they'd gotten to Newton's Cradle, but it was getting harder and harder to remember that. Their dorm was *Their* Dorm. They attended to their responsibilities almost like a functioning member of society. They had friends. Real friends. 

They resolutely did not think of an unused contact in their phone, of hundreds of messages and calls with no reply. 

"It's your choice," They echoed, the words sounding oddly like an accusation. Something close to nostalgia, or maybe fondness, colored their words. "It's up to you."
Jason
"It's not an *Ego* If it's based in fact, I'm just stating the truth. Tell me, Mr. *Lie Detector,* Am I wrong?" A light, mocking tone as Gabe returns the same energy being thrown at him by Matti. 

"What I'm doing? Passing the hell out, too." He snorts. "I've been wide awake outside that door for, what, a day straight? I'm tired as hell, and I've already done my hour-long bed time skincare routine, so I'm all set on that front." 

Gabe lies down on the ground, propping his head against his arm and resting on his side to keep the bedframe in sight. The angle was... Uncomfortable, he admitted to himself, and would most certainly cramp up his neck when the sun rose with dawn. It was nothing, in the grand scheme of things— Matti had been *Alone*, *Abandoned,* For three days in a dangerous headquarters of a vigilante group. He could handle a little bit of neck pain, if it meant providing a comforting presence to the emotionally-distraught kid. 

An anchor, Blanche would call him. *You're more dependable than dad is, sometimes,* She once tentatively admitted, after Gabe had picked her up from school after her soccer lessons. 

It was the one thing Gabe valued besides his acting— being *There*, and being *Strong* For those who needed him. And Matti desperately needed someone— their sad, nervous eyes danced around the corners of the room, still caught off guard by every shadow. 

"*You* Better get some rest, too. It's been a long couple of days for you, and over-exerting yourself is only going to make that stress worse. I'll get that, uh, the one person who can knock people out to... Magic you to sleep if you don't, or whatever." As Gabe talks about magicking the other to sleep, he shakes his hands in a mockingly spoOoOooOky manner, the guise only broken by his failure to stop a mischievous grin from growing on his face. 

The joke is nice, *Safe*, a good tone switch from the prior doting and fretting about the other.
Veronica
Matti startled slightly, before pulling the pillow off of their bed and passing it down to Gabe along with one of their blankets. They slid off the bed to grab their coat from the closet, folding it to form a makeshift pillow before flicking the lights off and lying down again.

"Oh no. I suppose I have no other choice, if I don't want to be 'magicked to sleep'." The statement was barely recognizable as sarcasm, punctuated midway by a yawn. 

They shifted so they could stare at the latched door. *You're safe*, they told themself, beginning the long nightly ritual of convincing their mind to sleep. Gabe's breathing was barely audible in the background, and for a moment they were much younger, much smaller, curled up in their parents room after a nightmare. 

"Thank you," They whispered, voice already slurring with exhaustion. "G'night."

They closed their eyes.
Jason
Under the cloak of darkness, Gabe gave the other an invisible smile. 

"Goodnight," He whispered back, before tucking the pillow that was thrown at his face under his neck and dozing off.