Azure: 19

Penne: 17

Navy: 18

Iliad (Ily): 6

Holy crap. Holy crap, this was actually working. He had to focus on melting himself into the surroundings, folding into the wall and floor color like he had disappeared into the ocean, taking in every inch of light and reflecting it off of his body, but it was working. And as if his imagination wasn't stretched enough, ignoring all other distractions was a pain in and of itself. For this to work, he had to be totally and utterly focused...and he could tell that he was flickering just by how distracting Navy was. He didn't know how they hadn't been caught yet and how Navy could keep up such a calm composure. Dragging him through the halls, Azure really had a chance to feel how smooth this boy's hands really were. Azure's were sweating and clammy to the touch no matter what he did. This guy really was perfect. Stupid Navy, he was too distracting for his own good.

Leading the navy-haired boy through the main floor was nerve-wracking, not only because he was trying to keep his invisibility up, but also because this was the place of his nightmares for the past two weeks. It was almost traumatizing, the flush of emotions and hate towards himself that he had felt in this building. He didn't want to be back, it made him feel awful. But...

As he looked back at Navy, he saw the boy wincing and readjusting his hold on the two bags as the course material of the straps rubbed painfully against his burnt hand. I did that, was all Azure could think. I did that to him. So he grabbed the two bags and added them to his free hand, smiling at the weight of all three, making sure that Iliad wasn't crushed or being bumped up against his leg too fiercely.

And then they were traveling down the corridor to his wing, and it was eerie seeing it so empty. He would have thought that some of his staff might still be hanging around, but it was barren. Well, it was barren until they came across a sobbing girl in the pool room.

"Aw gee, Penne," Azure whispered, and Navy looked at him quizzically.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"That's Penne."

"Penne!? I'nt that a noodle?" Navy asked, snickering.

"Well yeah," Azure said, rolling his eyes, "but the only reason her parents named her that is because, as she likes to put it, her dad's name was Pasta, and her parents wanted to doom her in her social life."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

At that, Navy tried his best not to laugh out loud, covering his lips with his burnt hand and shaking with laughter. He had such conflicting personalities that it was hard to tell if this was the same person Azure had run into outside. It was hardly the same person that tried to choke him. Even though that was probably just an empty threat...probably...

Letting go of Navy's hand, they both suddenly appeared, but Penne was too preoccupied to notice. So he padded up to her quietly, getting quite annoyed with her as he came closer and closer with no sign of recognition. So he set their bags down on the floor, grabbed her from behind, lifted her up, and started carrying her around on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The moment she felt his hard grip, she gasped, struggling to get out of his grip and yelling, "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU COME BACK!?"

"Well, that's not the nice warm welcome I was expecting," Azure said, grunting as he set her down even though she was practically weightless.

"The question stands!"

"Where's Rav? I need his medical expertise."

Penne slapped him on the chest to get his attention. "Azure, I love you, but I'm going to need you to ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION."

Azure let out a breath, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. "That is a long and tedious story," he said in a soft monotone voice, deliberately dragging it out so that Penne's impatience would get the better of her. "I understand if you don't want to hear it. I'm pretty much the star of the encounter, and all the other characters are monotonous and boring."

He heard a grunt from behind him but Penne didn't seem to hear it so he continued.

"It must have been roughly five seconds after I had left the building and was running at full speed-"

Penne pressed her hand over his mouth, her eyes dull and bored. "I bet I can guess the rest of the story. A bunch of burly guys chasing you, you're sprinting down the street heedless of your surroundings when you run into presumably that guy over there. He's either really buff and takes out the security guys for you, or you somehow inexplicably injure two of them, scaring all the other gurads off. The guy you ran into probably got injured in some way because of your stupidity and lack of judgement, and so carelessly, you proposed the idea of returning to the company where you knew there would be allies and medical supplies." Looking from one to the other, she asked dully, "Did I get it right?"

Azure didn't say anything, only grinning at her like a proud older brother. She sighed, standing up and placing an arm around his shoulder, which was, Azure knew, a somewhat effective scare tactic when it came to his love-life. A glint of recognition sparked in Penne's eyes when she laid sight on Navy, and standing on her tiptoes, she whispered into Azure's ear, "Well, well, well, look at the pretty fish you've hooked~"

Azure pushed her away blushing, and all the while, Navy just looked on, something like sadness creeping over his expression. But he had a lifetime of masking skill, and not an ounce of expression leaked onto his face after he realized that it was there.

"So Penne's your girlfriend."