though she didn’t pull away from the safety of his body, her hand ran from his.

“no.”

she took a harsh breath.

“that’s all it is. it’s not anything else.”

something in her shifted; defenses up.

“i won’t be like decker and briarwood, or wrynn and malcolm… or even you and cillian.” even she had made a mistake by bringing Sabine Calcifet onto the sub once.

“why do you think no one knows we’re related?”

she suddenly pulled away, face still wet, finally looking at him with hatred burning all over. it was a cycle.

“you all endanger each other.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

it was a look he was all too familiar with. he was a fool to ever believe that there was a chance he might not ever see it again, that the feeling had passed, but it always returned.

perhaps hatred would always linger.

he sighed, countering her point with his own.

"they all keep each other safe, too."

he looked at her.

"the same way i'm trying to keep you safe."

Lulu Flint

☉

her face softened a little. she sniffed lightly and stared a moment before her gaze passed along the floor in thought.

how was all of this supposed to be possible to deal with? how was she supposed to trust anyone?

”… i know.”

almost just as quickly as the hatred had boiled, sadness washed it away.

why did she cry around him so much, when he was one of the ones she wanted to impress the most? reality was cruel, and so was the mind. inescapable—almost.

”i’m sorry.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

his head shook before it leaned back to rest against the wall.

"don't be."

closing his eyes for a moment, he soon tilted his head over, something akin to empathy washing over his features.

"it's difficult, and it takes time, but i'll be here."

Lulu Flint

☉

i’ll be here.

easy to say.

she knew at least some of what he was capable of. the day that she’d had to kill the man in his prison bed still haunted her. theo hadn’t known her well, then, though, and it was in part this detachment that had drawn her in. an impossible situation.

this was just how things were.

”i know…”

when she said it, she realized she meant it more than she thought and her brow furrowed a little. then, a heavy sigh.

the image of rinc wouldn’t clear from her mind. it was sickening.

“if you feel asleep next to me, i might hurt you.”

“... i’m sorry i didn’t say anything before.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

so much had changed that night in the diner. it only proved that they could continue to change, that it wouldn't just end without him trying.

he'll try for as long as he could.

"it's okay."

"do you want to stay?"

Lulu Flint

☉

despite how they’d started out, his kindness towards her had been unwavering in the face of her unbridled rage for the world. it confused her.

now, she was unsure what she wanted. what would be worse? seeing rinc again while she was here with theo, or seeing him alone at night in the lighthouse, or waiting for him to pop up over her shoulder?

she hung her head a little.

“do you want me to?”

THEO BECKETT

☉

after a brief pause to mull over an answer he already knew, he nodded.

"i do."

his smile, no matter how faint, was genuine. he gently bumped his shoulder against hers.

"you can always wake me."

Lulu Flint

☉

tentatively, she leaned into him again. the nudge to her shoulder felt like further reassurance that there were no hard feelings.

“that’s not really how it works.”

she shook her head against the crook of his shoulder.

“if anything i’ll just want to keep you under. i'm like a fucking vampire, theo.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

it elicited a breathy chuckle from him. the thought of lulu dressed like a vampire, which wasn't too far off from how she normally dressed.

"but instead of blood, you'd feed on my nightmares."

it didn't sound too bad, to be fair.

he sighed.

"stay, lulu."

Lulu Flint

☉

her lips pressed together glumly, not at his answer, but his misunderstanding. lulu was not like the tooth fairy, come to take out the trash. she was an extension of terror incarnate.

“i don’t feed on nightmares. i take away good dreams, and give nightmares in return; really really bad ones, that apparently, sometimes, don’t stop.”

her eyes were willed to look up at him again. “you said you don’t dream, but…” she shook her head, not trusting anything. she’d done her research. while not everyone claimed to dream, all people and pokémon entered the rem stage of sleep. maybe they didn’t dream, or maybe they just didn’t remember. “i’d find something. i always find something.”

hunger was the greatest motivator, after all.

THEO BECKETT

☉

he couldn't remember the last time he had a dream. before, she had given him nightmares, and those proved to him that he was still capable of dreaming, at least to a certain extent. even now, he couldn't help but wonder.

would he ever be able to dream again?

despite her warning, he persisted, meeting her gaze.

"i'm okay with that."

Lulu Flint

☉

oh yeah. that did happen. maybe lulu had more brain damage than previously thought…

she stared at his eyes a moment, maybe looking for something there. maybe attempting to prove herself that nothing bad would happen. her gaze lowered before she said anything again.

“i don’t understand you.”

her hands came up to wipe her face and she sighed, looking up at the bed finally. getting up, and crawling onto it again.

THEO BECKETT

☉